How Many Eggs Do Box Turtles Lay (with Pictures and Video)

All known turtle species reproduce in the same way, through eggs, but what can greatly differ from species to species is the number of eggs that they will lay. Some of them will lay hundreds of eggs at once, while other species will only lay a few. In this article, we are going to take a quick look at how many eggs box turtles lay, and why they only lay that many.

How many eggs do box turtles lay? Box turtles usually lay between 3 and 9 eggs. There have been cases when a box turtle laid 15 or more eggs, but most of them will lay between 3 and 9 eggs.

So box turtles lay between 3 and 9 eggs, this is quite a small number when you compare it to other turtles that have 50, 60, and 100 eggs at a time. But there are a few reasons why box turtles only lay such a small number of eggs, some of them are pretty obvious when you think about it, while some of them are quite surprising. So let’s take a quick look at some of those reasons.

Why Box Turtles Lay so Few Eggs

For e species to avoid extinction and remain at least constant in numbers, every couple needs to produce at least two other individuals that will reach adulthood, and that will also successfully reproduce. So basically every female box turtle needs to have at least 2 babies that will become adults. Of course, some female box turtles can have a lot more than 2, some can have 20 or even 50, but at the same time, a lot of them can have none.

Most baby turtles have a hard life, and unfortunately, most of them don’t reach adulthood. But compared to most baby turtles, box baby turtles are not exposed to so many dangers. And as a result box turtles started laying fewer eggs.

At first, this doesn’t seem like the best idea, after all, why would you have fewer babies if you want to have as many as possible. At this point, something different comes into play, and this something is strongly tied to “quality over quantity”.

Box Turtle Eggs

A turtle egg is not only a shell that will protect the baby turtle until it’s fully developed, it also contains a lot of nutrients that will allow the baby turtle to develop. So if the egg is too small there won’t be enough nutrients inside to allow the embryo to fully develop.

Turtles will still rely on the nutrients of the egg even after they hatch, they will have a small yolk sack, from the egg, that is attached to their carapace that will feed them through their first weeks of life until they are able to find their own food. So even if the turtles have enough nutrients in the egg to develop is not enough, they will still need some more to be able to survive the first weeks.

On the other hand, if the eggs are too big, then it just wasteful. While the turtles will be able to hatch without any problem and they would be able to survive enough time to be able to procure their own food, the amount of space used by the eggs would be unnecessary.

Theoretically, there is a perfect egg size for every species, including box turtles, but it will take a lot of time for each species to get there. And the fact that their environment can drastically change from a generation to another, doesn’t really help them achieve that perfect quality and quantity ratio. Even if box turtles won’t be able to achieve the perfect ratio too soon, they are not necessarily too far away from it.

Now let’s talk a little about other factors that influence the number of eggs that box turtles lay.

How the Size of a Box Turtle Influences the Amount of Eggs That It Will Lay

I think this one is pretty obvious, but it’s still very important, so I believe that it still needs to be mentioned.

Until the eggs are laid they will be stored inside the female box turtle. So if a box turtle is smaller, it will be able to hold fewer eggs than a turtle that is bigger.

This is probably one of the most influential factors. Probably even more than the ones that I already mentioned. This is because the size of the box turtle can influence those factors as well. If the turtle had more space inside to hold the egg, it would be able to lay more eggs, of the exact same quality, or even of better quality.

No matter how you look at things, more space will always equal more eggs, or better quality eggs for the box turtle.

Do Box Turtles Take Care of Their Eggs After They Are Laid?

No, in general turtles don’t take care of their babies or their eggs. The reason why they don’t take care of them is a completely different subject, but in short, I can tell you that they wouldn’t be able to do too much to defend the eggs, and in the process, they will most definitely get eaten, and they will probably also attract attention on the eggs as well. So it’s better that they don’t stay around.

Even if box turtles don’t stay around and guard their eggs, they still do their best to protect them. And they do this by hiding them. They do this by laying the eggs in a nest that is well hidden. Usually, nests are hidden under piles of leaves, in holes, in burrows, and all the kinds of places that are hard to reach.

In general, turtles survive by hiding and by making themselves hard to notice. And this is what they also do to protect their eggs.

Here is a video of a box turtle laying eggs in a hole in the ground:

Do Box Turtles Lay Eggs Without Mating ?

Yes, female box turtles will lay eggs even if there is no male around to mate with them. Female turtles will lay eggs every year, even if they didn’t mate. The difference is that the eggs won’t be fertilized, so no baby turtles will come out of them.

Related Questions

Are turtle eggs soft? Different species of turtles lay different types of eggs, most of them are hard-shelled, but some of them have a leather-like texture.

Do turtles mate for life? No, turtles will not mate for life. Every mating season they will look for a new partner to mate with. It is also very common for turtles to have various partners during one mating season.

How often do turtles lay eggs? Most aquatic and land turtles will only lay eggs once a year. Sea turtles will usually lay eggs 4 to 10 times a year.

Do turtles eat their own eggs? Turtles will eat their own eggs only if the eggs are not fertilized. If the eggs are fertilized they will not eat them.

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