land turtle eggs

Question
QUESTION: How long does it take high land turtle eggs to hatch?

A turtle was observed burying eggs in sand at a retirement home. The residents have become very interested and are guarding the site. They believe to be a high land turtle. Thank you for your help.


ANSWER: Knowing where you are located roughly would help narrow down the species, but turtle hatching times are incredibly variable, based on several factors- mostly soil temps and moisture.

Figure between 20 days and 300+ days, with the average being 2-3 months.

It is important that the site be left as untouched as possible, and that it be unfenced. You can protect the baby turtles by placing some wide-mesh chicken wire over the site and staking it down in the corners to protect the eggs from predators.

Odds are, the turtles will hatch out at night, and over a couple weeks. As the babies dig out, they need to be allowed to escape to safety quickly. In fact, in most parts of the country it is illegal to interfere with baby turtles.

(I get a lot of questions like this from people who want to fence, pen up, or catch the babies, which is a bad idea for many reasons- I apologize if this thought did not cross your mind!)

I'd recommend a low-light web cam if possible!

Good luck!


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The location of the eggs is Elba, Alabama.I hope that helps a little more. I do not know the size or color of the eggs  as they  are buried in sand. I did not see the turtle myself.
P.S. The only "protecting" the residents want to do is to keep the gardener from stepping on them!!

Answer
Aha!

Well, in Alabama, you have a lot of different kinds of turtles, so the range of hatching times remains pretty much unchanged.

Most lawn care activities should not bother the eggs much- for example,  humans walking on the nest should not be any problem. It would be nice to be able to put up some stakes to keep people away, but it should not change the hatching either way.