Today I saw a turtle laying eggs in my yard. The hole was perfectly round and the egg was surprisingly large. I was expecting a bunch of small ones instead of one large one. Dug 3 holes that i know of. She was gone when I went back awhile later. Going to have to keep an eye on that spot. Maybe I'll get lucky and see the baby turtles dig themselves out.
I didn't take any pictures as I was in the middle of waxing the car and was running out of light.
What did you see today that was unusual?
edit: It was a painted turtle.
Quote:
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Painted turtles are amniotes[4] that requires females to nest on land. Females prefer soft, sandy soil with good exposure to the sun for their nest site. Nests are dug with the turtle's hind feet, usually within 200 metres of water. The nest is no deeper than 10 to 12 centimetres. The females will lay 4 to 15 oval, soft shelled eggs, in a conical flask-shaped hole. The eggs are elliptical, white to off-white and are mostly smooth with slight pits.[2] Female turtles may lay up to five clutches of eggs per season although typically, they will lay only one or two clutches. Once the eggs are laid the mother will cover the hole with dirt or sand and leave the nest unattended. Painted turtle eggs hatch 72 to 80 days after they are laid.[1] Once the young hatch and dig out of the nest, they are immediately independent.
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