General Care Discussion :: what are the chances?

[acf]

question for all, not sure if this is the right category, if not feel free to move it wherever.

so about a week ago i noticed a wild turtle (im thinking painted or red bellied slider) digging with his hind legs in the sand in our backyard. it looked as though she had made a faily decent sized hole. when i looked back on her awhile later she was still palying around in her hole. i assume she has laid eggs.

my mother and i put a garden fence around the spot where she was after she left to mark of where the buried over hole was so we wouldnt run over it. the fence is enough to keep our dogs away but wide enough that hatchlings could still make it through.

what are the chances there are actually eggs there and that they are viable? is there anythign i can do to ensure they hatch or are better protected and cared for? i think it wouuld bbe so neat to experience seeing these eggs hatch if thats the case. how long should i expect to wait until i know for sure if there is anything there? i havent touched the hole or the sand over top causei dont want to harm them in any way.

just though you guys could give me your ideas. thanks!

[Spike 7.62]

Aquatic turtle eggs usually hatch in 60 to 80 days which is a big margin, just keep an eye on them. How far away is the nest site from a natural water source?

You did the right thing by fencing off the nest area. If you do witness the hatchlings coming out, just observe and nature will do the rest. Just your presence should keep any animals or birds from eating them. Don't be surprised if they don't immediately seek out water or food, they are still being fed from a sac attached to their bodies from the egg. Also they shouldn't be put in water right away or else the sac will disintegrate prematurely. Let whatever happens to them happen, it's nature's way. Feel free to take some pictures though.

Larger reptiles will build false or empty nests to confuse predators who will eat the eggs/young but I don't know if turtles do this. If there are no hatchlings in say, 90 days, then the nest construction may have been a ruse, or the turtle found it unsuitable and went elsewhere to dig a new one, or the eggs did not survive.

[acf]

thanks so much for the reply!

our house is buit pretty much on a awamp, and the eggs are just across the driveway from the swamp itself.

i will be sure to keep track of the m=number of days and keep an extra eye around their 'due date'. im pretty excited but also nervous it wont work out. i feel better knowing its all out of my hands (i cant really mess up this way, lol)

thanks again!

[Spike 7.62]

No problem, keep us updated as things develop. There is a painted turtle population in the swamp in my town, the water isn't more than a foot deep in any place but they thrive back there, I've seen adults and hatchlings. Be sure to have a camera on you when the big day comes, if it does