Facts about Mother Turtles and their Eggs
It takes a few hours for turtles to dig their nests and lay eggs. A mother turtle will search out the ideal spot. Using her natural instincts she will find ground that feels just right- not too soft, not too hard; not too wet, not too dry. Sometimes, they will actually dig a few nests until they make one that "feels" just right.
After she digs her nest, she can lay up to 12 small eggs. Once the eggs are laid, she covers the nest carefully with dirt, patting down the earth until it is hard to notice there is a nest buried there, several inches below ground. After this exhausting exercise, the mother turtle's work is done!
65-80 days later, little baby turtles -- about the size of a quarter -- will break through the eggs with their egg tooth. An egg tooth is a point on the baby's beak-like mouth to break through the egg when it is born. This egg tooth goes away a few days after birth. Baby turtles will remain attached to the yolk sac, which provides all their food for the first few days of their life, until it is all gone.
Then they are ready to survive on their own! This type of turtle is a water turtle, also called an aquatic turtle. (Some examples of aquatic turtles are Painted Turtles and Red-eared Sliders.) They will then head for the water, where it is safer amongst the weeds and other plant life. The baby turtle will hunt for small bugs that fall into the water, and may feed on food scraps from larger turtles and fish.
Email: rbergins@earthlink.net
