Turtle eggs?

Question

Today while my cousins and I were out at our beach near our cabin in northern Minnesota. We were playing in the sand. I started digging when I spotted a pure white object. I dug it up and discovered it was an egg about the size of a golf ball. My cousins and I proceeded by digging up the sand around it and found about 30 more eggs. My uncle, a wilderness buff, said they were probably turtle eggs. My question is if they are turtle eggs, what kind and when we can expect them to hatch. More info welcome!

Answer 1

Sorry, but please leave them on the beach! They will die if you have them at home...

Well, turtle eggs are hatched at the end of spring/beginning of summer. These eggs probably will hatch in a few weeks or so. They will immediately have their own natural instincts to head for the light, also known as the ocean, which is a natural light because it is a reflector.

They are probably sea turtles. :)

Answer 2

Sorry, you might not like this, but really, I don't care, I've been seeing too many questions like this lately and it's grating on my nerves:

Oh, look! We found an egg that we don't know ANYTHING about! Let's see if we can find more! While we're at it, let's MOVE THEM!! YAY!!!

If you turned those eggs while digging them up, they're dead, you might as well throw them away. After 24 hours, reptile eggs develop an air pocket and key blood vessels... if the eggs roll or are turned, the air pocket is destroyed and the developing embryo suffocates.

You can't tell what kind of turtle laid an egg without seeing it lay the eggs or waiting for the eggs to hatch, or busting open an egg that's got a well-developed embryo in it and hoping the turtle's shell is developed enough to have identifying features... (not suggested).

In the future, let nature take care of itself...

Answer 3

The first answerer is wrong about them being sea turtles - almost impossible in Minnesota - but her advice about leaving them alone is spot-on.  Digging them up all but ensures that they won't hatch.

They could come from snappers, painted turtles/sliders, map turtles, or any of several other species.  From the egg alone, you can't tell.

Answer 4

Check with your local wildlife officials to find out what they may be. I don't any SEA turtles cruise the lakes of Minnesota They may be snapping turtle eggs.

Answer 5

They are from snappers; no other MN turtle would lay eggs that size or in that quantity. And, yes, you killed them. Rotating the eggs more than a day after laying will do that. The next time you find a turtle nest, leave the eggs im place. You can fence it off to deter egg predators. They will hatch in 2-3 months.