General Care Discussion :: Turtle Eggs

[squall3773]

So i have a RES that has been laying 4-6 eggs for the past three years
I cant tell whether or not they are fertile.
There are 2 other males in the tank which i think are able to mate with her.
They are 5 and 6 years old, 5 and 6 inches respectively
Im pretty sure its the older one.
Anways, shes beginning to looking around her tank for a spot to lay her eggs and its so cute the male goes out and follows her. He follows her everywhere.
My question is:
Is there a safe way to tell whether or not the eggs are fertile?
So that i dont have to go through the trouble of trying to incubate them for absolutely nothing.
I know that usually if infertile the eggs should cave in, but last year i had 3 seem completely fine, but after a couple of months there wasnt anything.
I've never seen any fungus (maybe i got rid of the bad ones be4 they got to that point)
Thanks for the help!

[megcornell]

Here's info on making a correct nesting site, your female will be much happier with a dry nest area.
http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html

As for eggs, before considering hatching them do you have the space and money for more set ups? Babies cannot go in with adults and with three adults already as they grow they may need separate tanks too.

[squall3773]

Thanks for the reply
my setup right now is like this:

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii15 ... 000744.jpg

i read the webpage and decided that im going to put a plastic tub with a mixture of half sand n half soil in the upper left corner, i can fit somethng 2 feet by 3 feet long and they recommended a foot deep.

right now shes digging in woodchips which ovbiosuly isnt good for nesting, it just sucks a little because after digging in the mixture for awhile and going back into the water portion of the tank it gets quite dirty fast.

when she seems to have laid them ill take the container out and monitor its moisture and temperature.

im just asking because after she laid some the past year, i removed them and took care of them properly according to information i found, but without results.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii15 ... sAlive.jpg

so i was wondering if anyone knew about a safe way to make sure the eggs are even going to be fertile.
and i guess now if anybody knows a way of keeping everything as clean as possible as my turtle is going to go from the sand/soil to the water.

Thanks again!

[megcornell]

I'm not positive but I think eggs laid in water will not hatch.
Other than that, you will probably be able to candle them to see if they're fertile, but that's only after the embryo has grown large enough to be seen. Even in the wild most eggs don't hatch.

p.s that is a really creative tank idea- is it one tank inside another?

[Vivi]

nice setup squall!!!

i agree with meg about having the space and money for the babies. if your cradle the eggs and see nerves and stuff then yea their fertile. When i say cradle is by going into a dark room and putting a flashlight against the eggs. then you would see the veins and stuff. if they're fertile.

ohh and meg i heard about eggs being in the tank for a couple of days and still being able to hatch. i think because the eggs are leathery and stuff. but thats what i have read so dont quote me. lol

[squall3773]

No silly haha!
Shes gonna lay them in the large plastic container of sand/soil!
Its just that after digging in the container she'll be full of the mixture and when jumping back in the water will make it messy real fast.

When i said upper left corner i meant in a birds eye view so where there is currently land. Sorry, i rly should have said that before :S

and yeah its a 130 gallon tank, 6 feet x 1.5 feet by 2 feet tall, in a contraption i built with help, thats 8 feet by 4 and 3 feet tall, the frame is 2x2 inches and the walls plexiglass.

[squall3773]

Thanks Vivi ( FF9??)

Awesome with the flashlight, i wouldnt know what i would be looking for.
Next time she lays em ill be sure to check asap.

[Vivi]

hahah yea squall (FF8??) lol

yea thats what i used to do when i had eggs with my birds it should work because your looking for the same things. lol