General Care Discussion :: are turtles eggs soft

[jasoncop954]

one of my female turtles have laid an egg in the water its either a penisula cooter red eared slider or African side neck both have males in tanks saw them mate so eggs will be fertile I wanna know why is the egg so soft and feel soft is this okay its feels like water inside small water ballon the egg was in water for about 15mins max please help

[Diamondbacks4Life]

They are pretty soft, they're not hard like a chicken egg. Also amount of calcium in diet can play a role on thickness of shell. Extra calcium for a turtle that lays eggs is a good idea. That said also the egg probably absorbed some water but that is fine. Eggs laid in the water that have been in water for hours have been successfully hatched by people. Since the egg was put in the incubator do not ever touch it. Waiting is the hard part. Especially at the beginning. The embryo attachs to the side of the egg and the slightest turn of the egg can break it off and it will kill it.

There is one way to tell the egg is good. Usuaully with a day or two all the calcium from the shell heads towards the center of the egg where the embryo is. This is called "chalking" Usually it creates a white band around the egg or in my diamondback terrapin eggs i got a just a circle at one where calcium had disappeared from the area. So basically if egg changes color like white faded out at the ends of its most likely fertile.

Here is a Common musk turtle egg I hatched out a couple years ago "chalking"

[justatwinturbo]

I'm starting to feel like you don't read responses to your questions. More than once, people have told you that mating does not mean they are fertile, nor does it mean a turtle is gravid. Turtles can lay eggs without successful copulation. So far all of your videos have shown mating attempts, but not actual copulation.

To answer your latest question, turtle eggs can be hard or soft depending on the species.

[jasoncop954]

Thanks justatwin and it does look like the calcium went all to the middle