Habitat - Outdoor :: Eggs!

[Haroldw1]

We have a large pond in our back yard. It's full of red eared sliders and catfish. I'm very fond of my turtles. I just watched a momma lay some eggs in my yard. I've done some google searches but I'm not sure if I should interfere or not. Here's my dilemma

I'm in Texas and we're in the middle of a drought. The heat is something fierce and our yard is dry as a bone. I've been having to use the water hose to keep my pond from drying up.

We have raccoons at night that will eat anything not nailed down.

We also do cat rescue and our time is limited. I read all about the if you move the eggs to mark them so they stay in the same orientation.

I'm debating two options:

1) Leave the eggs where they are, put a large bucket over the spot and weigh it down with bricks to keep the raccoons out at night and then remove the bucket during the day to air out the spot and give it some sunlight. Whenever they hatch, then move them to a container for 3 weeks before allowing them into the pond.

2) Dig up the eggs, mark them, put them in a plastic shoebox with proper material and just care for them.

I'm nervous about handling the eggs and screwing it up so I'm inclined to put my trust in mother nature rather them me but just giving them some protection.

Any advice?

Thanks,
Harold

[Sora]

Oh wow. Well, I'm no where near an expert on eggs(as my own turt hasn't even laid her first clutch yet), and the only remotely predatory animals we have wondering around are mice and cats.(Or Green Herons and Cranes if you lived next to tall grass/marsh area)
Maybe you can put the bucket(or maybe a large plastic container) over the egg section, drill holes into it for ventilation and still hold it down with bricks(or nails if your really worried).
If you took them inside in a container, you would have to set their heater at just the right amount for practically the whole period. Personally, I would let nature deal with it, just with a tiny bit of help in seeing that those babies don't get eaten.
Ultimately,the choice is yours
Good luck with the eggs,and I hope you can post pics if and when they hatch

[steve]

If your pond can't support them and you can't rehome them (it's difficult to properly rehome RES in the US), then you're better off destroying the eggs. It's a difficult decision, but RES are heavily overpopulated and invasive. Pretty much any rescue will tell you to get rid of them.

With that said, I would opt for option 2.

[Haroldw1]

The pond can support them. It's got plenty of room and wildlife. Just trying to give them the best chance of survival. Right now I have a cat cage sitting on top of the egg spot with the bottom removed so it's just got the wire mesh over the ground and bricks sitting on top of it. Keeps the raccoons out and allows the spot to get air / sun / moisture.