Along with the many reptile patients at the Wildlife Center this summer, there are also about 36 turtle eggs that have made their home in the Center’s reptile room. 

Earlier in the season, several injured gravid turtles were admitted to the WCV for care.  These egg-laden females had all been struck by cars.  Not all of the turtles survived their injuries — but at the very least, Center veterinarians were able to induce labor to collect the eggs.  The eggs have been “planted” in a few tubs of vermiculite in the Center’s reptile room and are regularly misted. 

The eggs came from three different turtles:

Eastern Box Turtle #11-1039:  This turtle was found on a road in Albemarle County on May 30.  Her shell was badly fractured and the injuries were too severe for the veterinarians to treat.  Before she was euthanized, the vets were able to extract two eggs.

Eastern Box Turtle #11-1169:  This turtle was found on a road in Louisa County on June 5.  Due to a severe spinal injury, this turtle had to be euthanized.  The vets were able to induce labor and collect four eggs from the turtle.

Common Snapping Turtle #11-0946:  This large snapping turtle was admitted on May 25 after she was struck by a vehicle in Fauquier County.  Despite numerous injuries — a fractured jaw, lacerations around the head and neck, and several shell fractures — Center veterinarians took this turtle to surgery to begin the lengthy repair process.  When the turtle was radiographed, the vet team realized that this was a gravid female.  After inducing labor, the snapping turtle laid 30 eggs.  The turtle continues to heal in the Center’s reptile room.

The WCV staff will continue to mist the “planted” eggs regularly and will look for signs of activity in August.  Snapping turtle eggs typically hatch in about 75 days — so if all is well with the eggs, we expect to see some young snapping turtles in mid-August.  Box turtle eggs usually take a little longer to incubate and hatch in roughly three months.  The staff will be keeping their fingers crossed — there’s always a chance that no young turtles will hatch if the eggs from the injured mothers weren’t yet ready to be laid.

The Center was able to successfully hatch 13 turtles in August of 2009 after both painted and snapping turtle eggs were harvested and buried.  All of the turtles were released back in the counties of origin of their respective mothers.

September 1 update

While none of the snapping turtle eggs hatched … a new face appeared in the Center’s reptile room on the morning of August 30.  A tiny box turtle hatched overnight and was found crawling around in the tub full of box turtle eggs.  The turtle was set up in a reptile enclosure for the day and was released on August 31 in Lousia County — the same general area where the mother turtle [#11-1169] was found.