Shelly's laying eggs!!

Hi everyone,
We've had Shelly an Eastern Box turtle since January when a friend of my sister couldn't keep her anymore.
I don't know how long she was in her previous home.

She is in the process of laying eggs and now has 2!

She hasn't been with a male with her previous owner or here. She has them cover with the substrate in her house.


Anyone have any turtle knowledge?

I know not to shake, rotate, or turn the eggs
What else should we do??? Are they furtile?

Thanks for any info.

I don't know a whole lot about turtles, but I do know that birds will lay infertile eggs, and sit on them continuosly afterwards. I also know that its bad for the birds mental health to let them sit on the eggs for longer than the normal amount of time that it would take for them to hatch (if they WERE fertile). Maybe turtles work the same way?? I'm not sure, but I bet you can find a wealth of info on the web. Try google!

If she hasn't been exposed to a male, she can't be fertile, so the eggs aren't. You can leave them with her for a week or so, but I would remove them before they get rotten.

I don't know if this occurs in turtles, but in Chickens sometimes hens have been known to make their own fertile eggs [which arouses the "what came first?" question] in which they can lay an egg and a baby chick will actually grow, it'll be deformed, but it'll grow. Maybe turtles can do it too?

Thanks maddensmom and Plebayo.

I have been looking on the web and found out that a female box turtle can keep sperm in her body for 3 yrs and sometimes longer and the egg can get fertilized while being laid.

This only concerns because we've only had her 6 months and I don't think her previous owner had her very long at all, so it is possible she has been with a male within the last 3 yrs.

have been looking on the web and found out that a female box turtle can keep sperm in her body for 3 yrs and sometimes longer and the egg can get fertilized while being laid.

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Holy cow!!! That's amazing. You may be about to become a grandma!

Originally Posted by pushylady

Holy cow!!! That's amazing. You may be about to become a grandma!

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Eeeek!!

Now it's looks like she's trying to lay another egg, I had to stop watching because it's making me nervous!

awww baby turtles! That would be so awesome, they would be so cute!

She broke all 3 of her eggs!


But I am worried about her, she is just not acting her normal self since she laid the eggs. She is kind of lathargic and not going into her pond like she used to....will have to call the vet, but I am not sure if they work with turtles, if not then we may have to get her to the wildlife center that we took the baby squirrels to so they can help her if she needs it.

So sorry to hear she isn't doing well. Are there any updates?

My box turtle laid eggs about 6 years ago. They were fertile from her tank mate. Unfortunately she laid them in the water while we were at work so the eggs most likely drowned. She was exhausted from it but snapped out of it in a few days. She has never let Dot mate with her again since then. Smart girl.

As a teen I once owned 7 box turtles - 6 males, 1 female. I witnessed the mating of the female and she did lay 2 eggs. But at the time, I had no real idea of what to do with them or how to hatch them - so they never hatched.

Since you have no way of knowing if she mated with a male, you won't know if they will hatch. You might want to contact someone at a local zoo or someone familiar with reptiles to help you out. After mating it was a short time that she layed the eggs and if you've had her for awhile, she may not have fertile eggs - sorta like a chicken lays eggs but unless the rooster is there, they won't hatch.

I find it hard to believe a chicken can lay a fertile egg without a rooster unless that chicken happens to be a hermiphidite one possessing both male/female parts.