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Well our turtles did the mating thing the other day. It was quite a sight, heard some splashing in the tank and saw the two locked together. Does anyone know the timeframe from mating to possible laying of eggs? We have a basking area but nothing to lay eggs in and I have read transferring the turtle to a separate tank is not a good idea. Any thoughts?

Not sure of the gestation period before laying, but how big are your turts? I think the females have to be somewhere around 6 or 7 inches to lay....

Don't know how big your female is now, but they do need to be a certain size to lay (space is needed for the eggs inside the body), and the larger the turtle the better chance of fertilized eggs being viable. The time frame from mating to laying is about two weeks.

For info in building a nesting site, go to http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Nestsites.htm

Thanks,

Our girl is almost 8" long. I think she is big enough. I am trying to figure out how to add a nesting area to the tank. I may have to make something to the side like others have done.

the link marisa posted is a good one..take a look at that.

8" is big enough for sure..good luck

good luck with your haschlings give us pixs of the eggs and hachlings

Tampa, what are you going to do with the eggs?

That is an excellent question Jen. While small turtles would be cute, I know they soon grow into large turtles. Im not sure if we will let them hatch but I do want to make sure they do not get stuck inside of mom. I am going to take an extra tank and construct a hatching zone with some guidance from Marisa's link to the tortoise trust. I will have to reasearch turtle organizations in this area.

Turtle egg update!

Momma had eggs about a week ago in the water (4-5 eggs) but most did not survive. Not sure if the turtles bit the eggs or they just broke from being pushed around. We got two out and one lasted for a few days but started to implode. So we are down to one. We have it in a soil/compost mix with a light on it for warmth around 80 degrees. Will keep you posted. If it survives we will add it to the outside 125 gal pond.

Keeping my fingers crossed...

Momma had another 5 eggs yesterday. They all seem to be intact and have been relocated (very carefully) to a separate container with the previous egg. All eggs were laid in the water and were quickly removed to avoid damage. Will get pictures posted shortly.

RES Tampa wrote:Momma had another 5 eggs yesterday. They all seem to be intact and have been relocated (very carefully) to a separate container with the previous egg. All eggs were laid in the water and were quickly removed to avoid damage. Will get pictures posted shortly.

Even though she is laying the eggs in the water, nature is telling her this isn't right and she still could retain some. If she does this, it could cause a very serious injury to her. A proper nesting area is the best way to insure her safety as well as the eggs, should you want to keep them. I know you said you were trying to figure out how to attach a nesting area to her tank, have you finished that project yet? It would be good to if you haven't for her safety.

Here is a picture of some of the eggs. We are keeping them around 80 degrees and the soil surrounding them moist. Will see what happens. She didnt like the nesting area I made and finally let loose in the water.

Good luck! Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

What will you do with the turts after they hatch????How many are there??