Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found two eggs floating in my tank today. They have been in the water for no more than six hours. Are these eggs dead? I have immediately put them in an incubator but my internet research suggests that any eggs found in water are dead.

Go ahead and try incubating them-turtle eggs can actually survive several hours immersed in some cases.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Boas, Pythons, Colubrids, Tortoises and Turtles

Thanks. I am trying to incubate them. It has been a month now. One egg is collapsing, so I assume it is no good. The other egg remains hard, so I think it may be a good one.

Although turtle eggs may be viable up to a certain amount of time in water, they will always sink to the bottom due to the yolk and amnion being denser than the surrounding water, if the eggs are indeed viable. In addition, once placing in an incubator, a viable egg will always develop a chalky white appearance once the embryo attaches to the pinnacle of the egg and chemical exchange begins. Although the whole egg may not turn this chalky white, at least some portion of it will, deeming the egg viable. Even an non-viable egg can retain internal pressure for several months giving it a full appearance and leading one to think it's viable. However this rigidity in the egg is often kept although the egg is not viable due to the inner contents condensing and hardening much like that of a boiled egg. Hope this helps!