Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yesterday while we were driving I noticed a large cooter on the side of the road. We stopped to check it out, and as we got closer to it I saw that she had been killed, and by the smell of her, she had been there for at least 2 days. There were a few eggs scattered around her, but they were busted. I knew that a female that large had to have more eggs inside of her, and sure enough, when I flipped her over, there were 8 eggs left inside. I then did something that still makes me sick to think about, with only a plastic bag covering my hand, I removed the eggs. I brought them home and have them in an incubator. If at least one of these hatch, it will have all been worth it because it will be a life saved. I do have a question though. Has anyone ever been sucessful in hatching babies from a mother that has been dead for at least 2 days? The eggs still stink, I cleaned them up as best that I could, I'm just wondering if these have a chance at all? If anyone has had a similar experience, I would love to hear from you and hear the outcome. Thanks, Christy

snakecharmed,
Don't worry you are not the first one to do this kind of "surgery". At least you use plastic gloves. I've done egg extractions from roadkill turtles several times, and I'm still crazy enough to use my bare hands. I live in Savannah, GA and incubate eggs from DOR Diamondback Terrapins. Actually my eggs just started hatching a few days ago. To answer your questions though, every day that the female turtle has been sitting dead, the chance of egg survivalship decreases. For a couple reasons. 1, the eggs cook inside the females body laying in the sun on the hot concrete, 2, parasites who already have come to feed on the dead body and eggs, and 3, from the initial impact of the car hitting and often times throwing the turtle, the eggs get shook up and cannot survive the impact. It is worth a try though. First clean the eggs very thoroughly but delicately with a light sponge and paper towel. Do not turn them in anyway. Eggs out of a dead turtle have the tendency to stink because they are covered in the females fluids, blood, etc. Do regular checks for mold. If any does appear use a moist Q-Tip to clean the mold off.After cleaning them put them in your incubator and incubate at about 85-86. I do this to end up with predominately females to re-stock the roadkill females, but not to cause scute abnormalities from too high temperatures. Give it a few weeks. You will definitely know if the eggs are bad because they will often times turn odd colors and attract mold, but most assuredly will collapse in on themselves. Once they collapse you know they are not viable. For rescued eggs from fresh kills the hatching percentage is only 30%, so don't be too discouraged if you only get a few to no hatchlings. It is worth the effort and a service to the environment. And the best thing is if some do survive. So good luck and e-mail me if you have any other questions.

YES! They can hatch!
Go to Empire of the Turtle's website. Eric has had a bunch of experience salvaging road kill eggs.

I have no clue if they can make it, but at least someone who is willing to give it a shot found them and is trying. I applaude you for that.

If they aren't indented, and did not overheat (the real danger there), I'd say you have a chance.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to reply, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, none of the eggs look viable which is pretty heartbreaking for me. I'm going to give them a few more days, but so far I haven't been able to see any veins so it doesn't look good. I wish people would be more considerate for critters crossing the road, whoever hit her had to have seen her because she was huge. Thanks again, Christy

snakecharmed, If you haven't had the symptoms that I described in my first post, don't give up on the eggs yet. I would say give it a little more time, and like I said you know the eggs are toast when they start collapsing in on themselves. Good luck.

Don't worry, I'm not giving up on these eggs until they collapse and become moldy. So far, 2 have collapsed, the rest still look ok, I just don't see veins, but they will remain in the incubator until there is absolutely no chance of them hatching. Christy