Hey guys, I saw a female mud or musk turtle (I'm honestly not sure which) preparing to lay eggs back in early June of this year in south Georgia. Later at the end of July/beginning of August, I investigated the spot as the soil was going to be disturbed by development. I found three eggs and rescued them in the hopes of their hatching. I constructed an incubator (10 gallon with some water and heaters, kept at 82 degrees F, with a critter keeper inside with moistened sand and the eggs on top). About two weeks ago, one of the eggs had a crack on the top. I left them alone in hopes of them hatching, but nothing else happened. My wife and I weren't sure if the egg was still viable, so today I flaked away the portion of cracked shell to see if a turtle had developed inside. Much to my surprise, a well-developed baby was inside, and it moved slightly when touched! I wish now I had left it alone (such an impatient idiot!!!). Now I have a baby turtle with its rear half still in the shell and its front half exposed. What should I do??? Can it still survive??? Did I doom it by exposing it too early??? Any help is appreciated. Thanks,
-Jared
