Things You'll Need
- Small flashlight
Instructions
Handle the egg gently when examining it. Turtle eggs, especially soft-shelled eggs are exceptionally fragile and over handling or rough handling can damage the egg and kill the embryo reports A.C. Highfield in "Practical Encyclopedia of Keeping and Breeding Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles."
Take the egg into a dark room and hold a small flashlight to the underside of the egg. If the egg is fertile you will be able to see the turtle embryo.
Examine the egg again with a flashlight in a dark room one week after the first exam if you do not see the embryo. The development of turtle eggs is a slow process and you may not have been able to see the development yet.
Watch for color changes on the egg's shell. When turtle eggs are first laid, the shell is a pink-white color. As the embryo develops, the shells becomes darker and lose the pink coloring. If the egg is not fertile or alive, then there will be no color changes to the egg.
Feel the egg. As the embryo develops, over time the egg texture will change and may feel harder or more rubbery to the touch. Eggs that are not alive or fertile will not have texture changes.