My sliders layed eggs I transported them 2 a diff tank wit dirt they buryed them wat do I do next?

Question

I dont know how old the turtles r we found them in the wild n have been taking care of them I would like the eggs to hatch but I have no idea wat to do or which is the female or wat spicies of sliders they are

Answer 1

Everybody seems too optimistic, IMHO. I'd have a funeral service for them. The chances are very good that you've killed them by rotating them during moving. I'd love to be proven wrong, though.

As far as species goes, get a copy of Conant and Collins' book on Reptiles and Amphibians ... It's an easy-to-use field guide. The female is the one whose vent in under the upper shell. In mature males, the vent is farther back.

Answer 2

If the eggs were laid in water, they are infertile. Other things that can render them infertile would be...

- Young, inexperienced turtles often lay infertile eggs

- Small clutches of eggs are often infertile

- If the eggs were moved, the embryos could have been detached, which will stop their development

- If the eggs were kept too wet, too dry, too warm, or too cold, the development may stop or slow

Answer 3

If you decide to remove the eggs to incubate them, you will need to prepare an incubation box.  You can use a large plastic sweater box or a plastic shoebox. ( Plastic boxes are good since they can be throughly cleaned and keeps well the moisture.)  Drill a series of small holes into the lid for ventilation.  (Make no more than a dozen holes of about a quarter of an inch in diameter).   Then, set up a bedding in the container of about 2 inches of vermiculite.  Use the heavy grain rather than the fine one.  Moisten the vermiculite evenly.  Make sure it is DAMP and not WET.

              This process has to be done very carefully.  Scoop back small sections of the substrate around the next, very slowly and carefully, trying to feel the eggs with your fingers at the same time.  Once you find an egg, before removing it, get a water based felt-tipped marker and make a small mark on the top of the shell.  This is important since you need to place the eggs in the same position the turtle layed them.  Once you have transfered all the eggs to the incubation box,  set it somewhere where it will not be disturbed .  Check the eggs a few days after by just removing the lid, but don't handle them!  Check for rotten eggs, which you should throuw away immediately.  If you see that an egg is developing fungi, you can remove the fungi with a 50/50 solution of antiseptic mouthwash and water, which you should apply carefully with a paintbrush.

      You should start to observe the eggs more carefully about 80 to 85 days after they had been laid.  Hatching time is comming!  Once the time comes, the hatchings will cut the egg shell with something called the egg tooth, which falls out about an hour later and never grows back.  If they don't feel secure, they will remain inside their shells.  Do not try to take them out until they have come out on their own. (they might not come out until the following day).   Once they come out, you will notice a small sack hanging out of their bellies. This is the yolk sac that fed them while they were incubating.  DO NOT try to remove this sac, trying to remove it can kill the baby turtle.  It is better to wait that it drops on its own.  Once it drops, you will notice a split in the plastron.  This will heal by itself too, you don't need to treat it.

Set them on a 20 gallon tank per dozen.  Provide them with a dry land area and a shallow water area.  Newborns need to master the art of floating and staying underwater for long periods of time.  Don't assume that they will survive only with water.  Newborn red-eared sliders can actually drown if you neglect them a dry land area. Once they are set up in their tank start feeding them.  It is important to get them to eat.  Start by offering them one by one all items on the proper slider diet.  Note:  You might have to 'chop' all of the food you offer since they are small babies.   This includes choping earthworms, mealworms, crickets.  I know, this sounds disgusting but believe me, you will get used to after a while and it won't bother you anymore. As  with addult sliders, newborns need to have their full spectrum light.  So don't forget to include that in the tank.  The full spectrum light will help the newborn shells to harden. Keep the water neatly clean.  If you don't have a filter change the water every two days.  This is very important since  baby sliders are more prone to getting eye infecitions (that can leave them blind for life or even kill them) than adult sliders