Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This morning, my neighbor found a teeny tiny turtle (1 1/4in) in their turtle enclosure, and brought it over to show me: we looked for more but couldn't find any at the time. Then I went back a few hours later and started to really comb the area where the first one was found, and found another little guy!
The intriguing aspect of this discovery is figuring out when they might have hatched.
Since the yolk sac is fully absorbed and the 'scar' barely visible, I would guess that they're at least two weeks old. But if they hatched in late June, that would mean that the eggs were laid at least a couple of months earlier probably even more when you factor in longer incubation at lower temperatures. That would put the egg laying date back into April or even earlier, which seems unlikely here in central VA, so I'm inclined to think that they may have over-wintered in the nest.
They show almost no signs of growth, other than the initial result of the yolk being absorbed.
I'll try taking digital pix this evening for posting.
In the meantime, we're going to keep looking for more.
How very cool!
Stephanie

How very cool indeed and I can't wait to see pictures. What will you do with all your hatchlings?

I 'headstart' them for later release.
Stephanie