Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i found a gravid female box crushed on the road coming home from work today around noon. i know she was gravid because i saw the eggs...halfway home i wondered, could i have saved any egg not cracked? would it have been possible to take them home and incubate them? it is too late now, but if i ever have this unfortunate experience again, i think i would try to save/hatch any undamaged eggs. what do you think? is this just a pipe dream?
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"If we are good only because we fear punishment and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed."
-Albert Einstein

It's a bummer indeed.

Several folks I know have had success taking eggs from a deceased mother. It depends on many conditions... How fresh was the accident? If she's been there for a while, the eggs are likely not good. Also, what is the temperature?

If the unfortunately kill was recent and the eggs were not broken and the temps are not unruly, it's worth of try if you can stomach it.

Roadkill is a sad fact of their existence.

Paul

There was an article in the NY Times not long ago about diamondback terrapins, and they mention removing eggs from roadkill females, and if viable, they DO hatch. They release 150 or more 'orphans' each year. I can e-mail you a copy of the article ( I'd tried a link but it didn't work) if you want.
Its certainly worth a try, if your stomach is cast iron.
I know how you feel.
Stephanie

actually, i read in a magazine a long time ago, that biologists were taking eggs from i beleive it was Diamond Back Terrapins that were killed on roads and had a very successful hatch rate. this was to help repopulate the terrapins since humans are the cause for it's decline.
try it, see what happens. at worst, you have rotten eggs, but IF it works, baby turtles