Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I am doing an honours thesis on wood turtle nesting. I have 6 clutches covered with predator exclusion boxes, but over this weekend some insane rain has raised the river enough to submerge every single one of my nests.

How long can reptile eggs be underwater (if any time at all) before the eggs die? It's been two days of high water, so I'm not thinking very positive right now.

If any one knows, please let me know.

Wendy

Solaris-

Sorry to hear about the eggs. Unfortunately, I would guess that your eggs probably did not survive that long without oxygen. That is very depressing and frustrating. I've had the same thing happen with nests of Blanding's turtles. Flooding is a fairly common cause of nest failure in that species. I suspect the same is probably true of Wood turtles.

On the bright side, this shouldn't mean that your project is a failure. Any data collected is important data and an aspect of the challenges that species like this face. Despite your efforts to protect the eggs from predators (the main source of nest failure) there are many other obstacles that long-lived, late-maturing species such as this face. That is why so few animals make it to maturity and populations under added stress are currently dwindling.

I'm assuming you have kept careful notes about when and where these eggs were laid. I would continue to keep a close eye on those eggs (you never know), but when the time comes for them to have hatched you will probably have to dig them up and see what happened. If they drown (and I'm assuming they did) you should be able to compare the developmental stage of the embryos' remains to this period of flooding to confirm the cause of death. You might also discuss the quality of the nesting habitat available to these turtles. Were the soil conditions ideal? Was their open upland habitat available that would have been further from this flood-prone locations? It is all good information that contributes to our understanding of this species ecology in your region. Good luck.

Solari,

I think that the ambryos will die within a few hours if they are under water. But maybe there are a few bulbs of air in the soil around the eggs, so that some will survive. You should observe the nests and let us know whatt will happen.

Good luck