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Box turtles lay eggs in the spring and early summer.
Here in South Carolina some are known to lay in the fall. The eggs hatch
in the fall and the hatchlings over winter in the nest or the eggs hatch
in the spring.
A gravid female typically becomes very restless and
constantly tries to escape. In my colonies it doesn't seem to matter how
big the pen is.
When they finally decide to lay eggs (usually early
morning or early evening), not much will distract them. It takes about
an hour to dig a flask shaped nest. And just as long to bury it. The
other night I watched for quite some time while a female eastern covered
the nest. The movement of the hind legs reminded me of a baker kneading
dough. When she was done, it was impossible to tell where she had dug.
This year I decided to try something new. I Got a
small rubbermaid storage bin and cut down one side about 2 inches. I
punched some holes in the bottom and filled it with topsoil. I put it in
a corner and made a ramp out of shale. The new nest box was an immediate
hit.
Following are some pictures of egg laying. Click on
the photos to view full size.
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