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Old 16-03-2014, 05:54 PM   #1
lynnedit
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Default ornate box turtle lays an egg

Well,the further saga of Fiona, my new Ornate box turtle.

Shortly after my last post, she became restless, stopped eating much and paced and soaked a lot.
She was recently adopted from a Rescue organization, and was with male BT's, but unfortunately species are mixed.

Anyway, I thought 'uh oh'. For 3 weeks she kept digging holes in the enclosure I have. I kept building up the soil, but she would hit bottom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTOVwZuYpGM

Earlier this week I transferred her to a deeper tub with about 10-12" of soil and set a 60w black bulb over the area on a grid.
She burrowed down for the night, but the next morning was digging again. Within 2-3 hours she had filled it in and was walking around on the surface scraping at leaves to disguise it.
Initially I could not find anything, but eventually found one egg.

After consideration, and due to the fact that I do not have an incubator, I decided to leave it be, but removed some of the soil. It is moist but not wet (as it was when she chose it). Moss over the top and I left the light on.



soil with probe


egg visible


We will see!
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Old 16-03-2014, 07:03 PM   #2
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Hi Lynn,

Good news. I've had the same with rehomers and take it as a sign they're going ok (or were desperate for a deep nest site so well done on switching her). They're nests are very different to other turtles, mine dig a hole for themselves then dig a nest chamber at the bottom of that.

Personally, I'd keep the depth of soil above the egg close to the depth she laid at, the eggs are quite succeptie to high or low humidity so its a case of "mum knows best".

There is a chance of fertility if shes been in contact with a male. I think it's up to 2 years at a stretch.

I usually incubate at around 30C to produce females. 26 will produce male, midway will produce a mix. Takes about 50+ days at 30C.

Good luck!
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Old 17-03-2014, 01:07 AM   #3
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OK, I will add back more soil. I know what you mean about 'mum knows best', which is why I left it rather than rush around looking for an incubator. It is just so hard imagining a little turtle hatching then crawling through 10 inches of soil!

Another Ornate owner mentioned that the middle/south US box turtles eggs are a bit harder than the box turtle eggs along the Eastern coast. And that the mother often pees around the eggs to add extra moisture. The egg is well packed into the soil to keep it stable. And I am not even sure, there could be more than one, I stopped when I found the one egg to avoid disturbing it.
She did such a good job, and it was so cute watching her disguise the site; ruffling up the leaves with her back legs.

I managed to get temps to about 29/30c by raising the tub up an inch on wood slats and putting a heating pad set on low on the floor, beneath it (not touching the tub), along with maintaining the black light above. It is nice to have the probe right by the egg, so I know exactly that the temp is at the egg.

Fingers crossed, but at least Fiona is happy again!
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Old 17-03-2014, 01:15 AM   #4
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Actually artificial incubation with box turtle eggs isn't that hard if you have a warm room (ie turtle room thats kept warm). Sadly I've had very little luck hatching box turtle eggs on or in soil as it doesn't seem to give the eggs enough access to air (oxygen) as the embryo grows. In the nest chamber would be fine if it was a well formed chamber that the filled in dirt was only loose around the egg/s. Also all box turtle eggs are slightly hard when first laid. They will expand in the first couple of weeks and get more leathery.

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Old 17-03-2014, 01:32 AM   #5
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I don't have a turtle room, the house is generally about 68-69f. So I figured a window sill would not be good enough.
The egg will have been in there for about a week. The soil has been loosened up (by me), so the egg is sort of in a bowl. I am concerned about moving it now.
If I leave the soil loose on top and maintain temps, would that be adequate? Let me know if you think I can make any other adjustments.
I guess time will tell. :/
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Old 17-03-2014, 01:22 PM   #6
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It's going to be hard to figure out the humidity and with the egg being covered you can't tell by what the egg is doing (ie becoming sunken in).
If your getting good temperatures with using the heat mat, than you can use a smaller container (either clear or with an easily removable lid). Fill container half full with glitter grade vermiculite or perlite (mixed weight wise one to one with water). Moving the egg now won't hurt it as long as you don't turn it. Place it in the vermiculite/perlite half buried. Depending on the size of the container, you can put 1 to 4 holes in the lid.
Place everything in a dark spot or as dark as possible. With the high humidity light will cause algae to grow (and possibly to grow on the egg) which isn't good for the egg.
I've hatched 100's of box turtle eggs basicly this way

Danny
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Old 17-03-2014, 02:50 PM   #7
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OK, thanks, I really appreciate the advice!
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Old 17-03-2014, 07:15 PM   #8
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Here are some eggs set-up in a disposable plastic sandwich container.


Danny
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Old 17-03-2014, 07:31 PM   #9
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Hatching, no less!

What I did t mention is that I am out of town until Sunday. My mother is competently caring for torts, but I think moving an egg might put her over the top.
She is checking the temps.
I would assume by that time it would be too late to move the egg.
If so, I will keep the dirt loose around it, and check it periodically.
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Old 17-03-2014, 07:39 PM   #10
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No you can still move the egg when you get back. It's not the time but what you do to the egg that matters (ie not turning it after it starts to develop). Freshly laid eggs can be turned any which way you want as the embryo hasn't started to develop yet.
You can mark the upper most part of the egg with a dull pencil and that will make sure that you know which side is up, just on the oof chance it gets rolled a bit.

Make sure Mom sprays the area once a day until you get back, this will help with humidity.

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