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I've been trying to figure out how to set up my turtle tank this summer. I had made an island last summer with a plastic storage tub for them to lay eggs in. It didn't work very weell, so I was starting to arrange things for this summer. When I tried to lift the plastic container, it just disintegrated. Might have to re-think that part. Denny

Maybe use a small long aquarium? In my experience acrylic doesn't do too bad in water/sun...

Probably didn't help that I left it outside over the winter. I'll have to see if I can find one the right size that maybe is a little sturdier. I think I know how I'm going to set it up this summer, so now just need some good weather to get it done. Denny

Well. today was a surprise. I decided to add more media to the nesting box, and as I was turning the soil over, I found 1 and 1/2 eggs buried in it. The one was what I would consider s normal sized egg, and the half was about the size of a grape. It probably won't hatch, but was pretty cool. I had expected the soil to be disrupted after eggs were laid, but I didn't notice that at all. Now I have to get a heat pad to keep the egg(s) warm. Denny

That is pretty awesome. What do you plan to do if you do manage to hatch a few eggs? Not sure what the turtle market is like...

Well so far I've only got one egg. I'm hoping they lay some more during the rest of the summer. If they hatch, they will appear to be normal. They will carry the gene for albino though. They probably have some additional value for people with albinos, but can only be sold for educational purposes before they are 4 inches. In theory, mating two of the carriers should result in 25% albino. It would be cheaper than having to buy 2 albinos. Denny

Are the egg or eggs still cooking? Excited to hear more about this project. I got crazy and bought a couple more water turtles. Two diamondbacks. Weak moment. What I really want is albino sliders again someday. Keep working on it. Jack

The one egg I've got may be drying out. I may have to rethink my incubation techniques. i should be getting some heating pads pretty soon here, too. Denny

Should probably get a chicken incubator or see what the real reptile geeks use for snakes and lizards. Fun stuff.

I'll have to look at using coconut fiber. Denny

Jack, diamond back terrapins? I didn't think those were legal anymore. As I recall, they also need brackish water or tend to get fungus.

mewickham wrote:Jack, diamond back terrapins? I didn't think those were legal anymore. As I recall, they also need brackish water or tend to get fungus.

Yep those are the ones. Captive bred stock is less demanding than the wild caught ones used to be. The are still for sale might not be legal in AR but are in MO.

Denny get those eggs going man!

We just got back in town this afternoon. Tomorrow I'll have to check to nesting box again. I'm going to have to figure out how to keep the eggs more humid if I have more. Denny

I finally decided to open the one turtle egg I had gotten last summer. I wasn't expecting very much because it looked like the egg had shriveled up pretty soon after I found it. I open the egg, and it was all dried up inside, but I could see that there was a partially developed embryo inside. At least the male(s) are fertile. I'll have to work on that for the next batch. Somehow I'm going to have to figure out how to keep them moist. Denny