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Turtle Deja Vu
BobJudy
Member Posts: 6,630 ✭✭✭✭
There must be something special about this spot. This is at least the fourth time a snapper has laid her eggs in this location over the past few years. After she is done, I will stake a wire cage over the spot to keep the skunks and raccoons from digging up the eggs. Unfortunately, I'll have to mow around it all summer because, depending on the weather, it will probably be sometime in September before they hatch. One year I gathered up about 50 hatchlings from this spot and transported them the 50 yards to the pond. I don't know if any survived but at least I made the herons and furry critters work a little harder for their suppers. Bob
Comments
Animals are creatures of habit.
Easy to dig?
Usually a combination of ease of digging, sun exposure or shade. Snappers commonly oviposit in sandy creek banks, but often those are not available lake or pond side. The are looking for stable temperature/humidity conditions within the clutch chamber.
I have seen turtles lay the eggs in some hard ground. They have to continually wet the ground to dig it. Don
Painted's are all over the golf course, way away from the water!
Sliders will cross interstate highways to nest areas. The right soil, the right sun exposure, I have seen a lot of nest sites, including in my own backyard, but I have never seen the operating manual. I'm not convinced they read it either.