I have had many Florida's hatch over the past years this was the first time I encountered this a stuck hatchling. I had to cut the egg shell off, it seemed dry and very hard. the turtle's body seemed shaped like the egg after removed. Hopefully it will grow out of this shape. See pic of it still stuck in egg shell.
Rusty
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Florida Box stuck in its shell
MeTurtles
Oct 13, 2009 12:28 PM
Replies (3)
StephF
Oct 13, 2009 05:00 PM
The hatchling appears to be dehydrated, which begs the question of where the hatching turtles were kept as they emerged from the egg. Lack of sufficient humidity would certainly create a situation where a baby would not be able to emerge from its egg.
meturtles
Oct 13, 2009 06:33 PM
Yes I believe you are right. this one was the last of this seasons bunch and I checked the the substrate (newspapper) and it was much dryer than I have ever has it. It's been prety hot in my garage the last few weeks. I will definately keep closer watch next season. report on the hatchling: Doing great, it's actually taking on a turtle shape : )
Thanks for your input.
StephF
Oct 13, 2009 07:44 PM
Newspaper is not really an ideal substrate because it doesn't retain moisture very well (as you've found out). Try something like vermiculite next season.
