Posted by Janice britland on July 16, 2005

Q: my turtle left my pond to lay eggs, will she find her way back home or do they just go on the the next pond?? I have her last batch of eggs in a tupperware box, with vermiculite etc. how can I tell if they are furtile??? she has a male turtle living with her. thanks

A: Although bird eggs are candled to determine whether they're fertile or not, I'm not aware that this technique would work for reptile eggs. If you want to try, google "candling" and see if you can find directions for how it's done and then see if it works with your eggs.

I am almost positive, however, that your turtle eggs are fertile. Since you've mentioned a male turtle in the same pond, I'd say you can be 99% sure you have fertile eggs!

You didn't mention why you removed the eggs from the nest and placed them in a tupperware box. Artificial hatching attempts are always very, very iffy. It's always best to let nature run its own course although I can understand if you're concerned about Raccoons or skunks eating the eggs. I would google turtle eggs on the web and see if you can find out some details of what to do to insure the eggs hatch. Temperature and humidity will be important and your tupperware box MAY keep them too warm or too wet or who knows what. I have never had any luck hatching turtle eggs myself, but I'm sure someone has.

About your turtle finding her way back to her pond. It's not well understood but studies have shown that turtles are especially adept at finding their own pond after leaving it and wandering about. Although turtles may move from one pond to another, for a variety of reasons, they seem quite able to return to their own pond when they choose - pretty neat!

Sorry I can't be more helpful. Hope all goes well. I'd love to know how it turns out. Thanks for your questions.

John Wiessinger ( July 17, 2005)