How To Hatch Turtle Eggs? Egg-cellent Facts Everyone Should Know!

There are different species of turtles, some may belong to freshwater, and some may belong to the marine, but they all lay their eggs on land, in nesting burrows.

After they lay eggs, female turtles cover them with sand or mud and leave the baby turtles to survive on their own. The eggs are all fertilized by various males, which adds to the population's genetic diversity.

That's all that the male turtles do; neither parent sticks around for protection. Birds and snakes, among other predators, are a threat to turtle eggs.

If you find turtle eggs in the wild, leave them as they are because you might disturb the embryo inside the egg and kill them, but try covering them with sand or straw for incubation and surround them with poultry mesh to protect them from predators like snakes and raccoons.

If you have eggs of your pet turtle, you can build a nesting box for them using a plastic carton and vermiculite mixture. Please keep them at a warm temperature of around 80° F (26.6° C). You can use a thermometer to make sure that the temperature is right.

After reading all about how to hatch turtle eggs, check why turtles live so long and how long can sea turtles hold their breath?

How long do turtle’s eggs take to hatch?

Female sea turtles find a suitable location to lay eggs, make nesting burrows, cover them with mud, dirt, or sand for incubation, and leave them to hatch and live on their own afterward.

The incubation period for the turtle eggs might differ from species to species. On average, the incubation period is two to three months long, and it may change depending on the temperature and the depth of the nest. It is seen that eggs need less time to incubate in the warmer climate than in the colder weather.

The tiniest size turtle eggs belong to the Critically Endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), measure 1.4 in (3.8 cm) in diameter, and weigh roughly 0.98 oz (28 g).

In comparison, the largest size turtle eggs belong to the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and measure 2 in (5.3 cm) in diameter and weigh an average of 3.2 oz (90 g).

Taking care of the turtle’s eggs without moving them is crucial because when you move the eggs, you might destroy the embryos by placing the eggs in the wrong.

It might take a time of around 60-90 days for turtle eggs to hatch. The hatchling might remain inside the eggshell to absorb nutrients from the egg sac, so do not remove them forcefully from the shell because you might damage the sac, which can lead to infection and death of the baby turtle.

Do not crack open the egg; they will come out once the egg sac is absorbed, and whenever they feel ready to see the outer world, it might take a few hours, days, or weeks.

According to other research, the survival rate of the hatchlings is meager, only 7-10 % of the embryos become baby turtles, and among them, only 1-2% survive.

Required Materials To Hatch Turtle Eggs

To hatch turtle eggs, you need to incubate them for the right amount of time.

Make sure that you carefully lift the eggs if they are not safe at their original position, see to it and make sure that you do not rotate the egg as it might harm or kill the embryo because embryos get attached to the egg wall.

Do not move an egg unless absolutely necessary.

To hatch turtle eggs at home, you will need an incubator, a suitable plastic box, vermiculite, a warm and dry place to keep the eggs once they are placed inside the book.

If you are transferring your turtle eggs in artificial conditions, wait for the eggshell to chalk over for two to three days, after which the shell will get whiter and stronger.

Proper incubation is essential for the growth and development of embryos, so either you should buy a professional incubator or customize one to hatch turtle eggs.

Carefully clean and mark the eggs, put them in a tray and surround yourself with sphagnum moss for moisture. Please place them in a professional incubator to provide optimum temperature and humidity.

In the customized incubator, you keep the eggs in a mixture of equal vermiculite and water within a plastic container and cover them with a lid with holes in it for ventilation.

How to incubate turtle eggs?

Incubation is a vital and crucial step in the hatching cycle of a turtle, and it takes time.

So first, for proper incubation, you should provide it with the required temperature and humidity. Temperature and humidity are responsible for early or late hatching. If the temperature is too hot, eggs might take a little long to hatch or not hatch at all, whereas excessive cold temperatures can result in unhealthy and abnormal conditions.

Remove the eggs carefully from the nest and add them to the incubator.

For incubating the turtle eggs, you need to replicate the conditions optimum for the eggs to hatch. There are several ways and setups to incubate the eggs; we need to understand the basic structure of the setup and the requirements of the hatchlings.

Some basic things you should keep in mind while incubating the eggs.

Before lifting and transferring the eggs from the nest to the incubator, you should mark the eggs for their original position because rotating it might actually kill the embryo.

Understand the species' needs because some might thrive in hotter temperatures, and some might need moderate temperatures. You can safely keep your incubator's temperature around 75°-80° F (23.8°-26.6° C); this temperature is suitable for many common species.

Maintain the humidity around the eggs; you can surround them with sphagnum moss, vermiculite mixture. Keep checking for dampness as it will damage the eggs.

How do you hatch turtle eggs at home?

If you want to help hatch the turtle's eggs in your garden or your pet turtle's eggs, you should first provide excellent incubation conditions for the egg. Suitable temperature and humidity conditions are essential for the hatching of the eggs on time and the better growth of the hatchlings.

To know how to hatch turtle eggs, one should seek professional help to avoid harming the egg and the babies.

You can let the eggs hatch naturally, put some sand, mud, or straw over them, and put poultry mesh around them for protection from predators.

If you want to hatch the eggs at home, then for a good hatching experience, you should buy a professional reptile incubator for incubating the eggs because it is accurate and easy to use.

There is another method for making an incubator at home using a plastic box, vermiculite.

Firstly make a nesting box using a plastic container with an airtight seal and poke some holes in it for proper ventilation. Then make a vermiculite mixture from vermiculite and water.

Take the equal amount of water and vermiculite by weight, let it retain some moisture, and make sure more than half of the nest box is filled with it.

Dig some space on the vermiculite mixture base to embed eggs on it. Before you move the eggs, mark the top of them to avoid rotation because it will kill the embryo.

After shifting the eggs to the nesting box, seal it with the lid and keep it in a warm place. The temperature should be around 75°-80° F (23.8°-26.6° C) and humidity around 80%.

Now you need to wait. Generally, hatching will take about two to three months if the provided conditions are suitable for the growth of the baby turtles. Once hatched, babies will get nutrition from the egg sac for some time.

Caring For Turtle Eggs

When laying their eggs, female turtles choose the perfect location for laying the eggs, which is suitable in all aspects for the growth of baby turtles. They make nesting burrows, lay the eggs on them and leave the babies afterward to hatch and survive on their own.

Turtle eggs need warm temperature and humidity to incubate correctly, which they get from sand and mud in the wild.

To take care of the turtle eggs, you can give them the necessary conditions to hatch and survive in nature or at your home.

If not essential, avoid moving the eggs from their original location because if the orientation of the eggs is changed, it can damage the embryo.

If you are moving them, mark the top of the turtles' eggs to keep them in their original position. Carefully place the eggs in a plastic box with sand, mud, or vermiculite mixture for storing and incubation. Keep the box in a dry and warm place without fail.

Incubation can take from 60-90 days. Check the temperature and humidity content from time to time. Around 75°-80° F (23.8°-26.6° C) temperature is optimum for incubation for most common species. A high range of temperatures can kill the embryos, and too cold won't let them develop.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how to hatch turtle eggs, then why not take a look at different types of turtles or sea turtle facts.