My freshwater turtles had started mating when the light was left on for longer periods of the day. It started another time too when the water temperature was raised. Blane (the male) vibrated his long claws on his outstretched arms over his head at Arial (female) and at times scratching her face while doing so. The funny thing is she sometimes sits in front of him and takes it without swimming away.

Ovulation time is anywhere from 45 days to 100 days depending on the species. Anywhere from June to December it is time to build a nest in some sunny, dry lowland. Some females return to the same spot year after year where it is warm to deposit eggs. All turtles regardless of where they live will deposit eggs in sand or mud on dry land.

The eggs can come in clutches of one or two up to 25 eggs at once depending on the species. The eggs are usually ovular and have a rubbery texture. All eggs seem to be white. The hatchlings will emerge any where from 60-80 days after the eggs are deposited. A hatchling can take 1 - 5 days to struggle out of the egg. The yolk sac it carries attached to the belly provides food for as long as seven months for its survival underground but most turtles claw their way out of the nest after only a few weeks. Some turtles will return to the same nesting grounds on the same beach each year to lay their eggs. They have very good navigation instincts.

If you want to encourage your female to lay more eggs, provide a land area with sand or dirt for her to lay her eggs. If you want to incubate the eggs, do NOT turn them or they will die! For starters, keep the eggs moist and warm (~85F). Then consult a book or a person to help you on.

Baby Turtles

Very young (small) turtles are no longer sold in the U.S.A. A turtle needs to have a 4" shell to be legally sold in the pet trade.

Baby turtles need extra care to remain healthy. Mostly they are much more affected by an unhealthy diet. If you feed too much protein to young turtles, their shells will deform. This is fixable in young animals by adjusting the diet. Once the turtle reaches a bigger size, the deformities are permanent and cause the turtle much discomfort.