RE: african side neck laying eggs

Question
Hi. I was hoping you can help me out. We have had turtles for several years now. Usually red ear sliders. We currently have a red ear slider (aprox 6 yrs old) and an African sidneck turtle (acquired 2 years ago) in the same 50 gallon tank. They have been perfectly fine. This morning I woke up to find 5 eggs in the water in the tank. This afternoon I found another. I did remove all of the eggs and put them in a clean towel in a warm place. (75-80 degrees) Since I do not have 2 of the same species of turtles, are these fertile eggs? should I try and incubate them or just throw them away? I know it is the side neck laying them but I am not even positive our red ear slider is male...LOL..Thanks for any help you can give.
Lynn

Answer
Eggs laid in water are almost always infertile- it is tough to breed turtles in most home setups since the female cannot have free access to their choice of nesting sites.

They also store sperm for years, and older turtles often lay infertile eggs, apparently to rid themselves of excess hormones and minerals.