We’ve been checking every day to see if the Box Turtle eggs in our yard had hatched yet. Yesterday was Day 76 with the average being 70 days. (Click on blog link to see whole story with photos.)
A couple of weeks ago we called the local “turtle expert” Bill Allan who came over and put a little cage on the area where the female had laid her eggs in June. He even loosened the soil a bit to help them along. While doing this we saw 2 eggs buried about 3-4″ in the sand. Wow! They were really in there!
Yesterday morning I went out early to check them as the forecast was for torrential rain. No one was stirring then. But when we went out later in the afternoon, after the rains had stopped, there were 2 little Box Turtles that had hatched and needed to get out of the cage into the nearby woods.
The chronology of photos is: 1) First turtle that we picked up to place in the woods. 2) The cage that Bill Allan put in our yard over the nest. 3) When I first noticed that the turtles had hatched. I could see 2 little holes in the sand. You can see the turtles inside the cage. 4) Removal of the cage. 5) 2nd turtle getting a helping hand to the woods. 6) First turtle under some ground cover. 7) 2nd turtle under ground cover.
Just went out to check again. They made it out into the woods! Wow! What an incredible experience! So cool!!
