How to Hatch Painted Turtle Eggs

According to the University of Washington's Nature Mapping Program, painted turtles are quite common in North America, and are found from Canada to northern Mexico. The painted turtle is a freshwater species that lives in lakes, ponds, slow-moving rivers and marshes and lays eggs in the sand. After the painted turtle lays her eggs, she often buries them, and always abandons them. Hikers or explorers sometimes stumble across a turtle's eggs, and decide to take them to a safe location to hatch them. In addition, people raise painted turtles as pets, and frequently deal with the breeding cycle of their turtles, as well as hatching the eggs. The successful hatching of painted turtle eggs is dependent on various factors of the environment in which the eggs are kept.

Things You'll Need

  • Container filled with 3 to 4 inches of sand or dirt
  • Plastic spoon
  • Paintbrush
  • Pencil
  • Plastic shoebox with lid (or a similar container)
  • Damp sand mixture (1 part vermiculite, 1 part sterilized play sand, 1 part peat moss dampened with rain water or spring water)
  • Styrofoam-lined box for shipping tropical fish (or a similar container such as a styrofoam cooler)
  • Large glass jar
  • Water
  • Submersible aquarium heater
  • 2 bricks
  • Thermometer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Spread approximately 2 inches of perlite in the bottom of the plastic container for drainage purposes. Place approximately 4 inches of damp soil mixture on top of the perlite in an even layer. Make thumb depressions in the damp soil mixture in which to place the painted turtle eggs.

    • 2

      Lightly mark the top part of each egg with a pencil, before you remove them from where the mother laid them, so you will know how they should be placed. Unearth the eggs with a plastic spoon, and place each egg, in its original position, into a depression in the damp soil mixture. Pack the soil mixture around each egg for stability.

    • 3

      Transport the container with the eggs to the site where you will incubate them. Place them in a warm area while you prepare the incubator. Optimal temperature is around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

    • 4

      Place a submersible aquarium heater into a large glass jar filled with water. Place the glass jar into the corner of a styrofoam-lined shipping container or cooler. Fill the bottom of the styrofoam container or cooler with 3 to 4 inches of water, and place 2 bricks in the bottom, next to one another.

    • 5

      Place the covered shoebox, containing the eggs, into the styrofoam container, on top of the bricks.

    • 6

      Place a thermometer on top of the covered shoebox to monitor the temperature. Ideally, the temperature
      should be between 80 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

    • 7

      Closely monitor the incubator to make sure the temperature stays between 80 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit, and that the soil mixture remains damp. Add a bit of rain water or spring water as necessary.

    • 8

      When the painted turtles hatch, move them to another plastic shoebox with several damp paper towels in the bottom. Leave them in this enviroment, approximately 4 to 5 days, until they have exhausted their yolk sacks. Then they can be moved to a more permanent enviroment.