Do Turtle Lay Eggs (How, Where, When, and How Many)

Turtles lay their first clutch of eggs about three to six weeks after mating. 

After the mating process, the female turtle prepares a nest on land. 

The female turtle uses its hind legs to dig a nest when she is about to lay her eggs. 

She digs her nest on land in the last week of her gestation period. 

The turtle find a suitable place on land where there is sand. She then start digging the place with her legs. 

The depth of the nest depend on the size of the turtle. It usually digs as deep as its legs or flippers can reach. 

Bigger turtle lay giant and more number of eggs in a single clutch. 

So, they dig a bigger and deeper nest so that all of their eggs can accommodate in the nest. 

Most of female turtle finish nesting in a couple of hours. 

Now that you know how a turtle lays it eggs, the next question is, do turtle lay eggs in the water or on land?

 

Where Do Sea Turtle Lay Their Eggs?

Sea turtles primarily live in the sea. However, there come on the land to lay eggs.

Usually, they lay eggs between February and September.

Sea turtle lay their eggs on the beach. They dig sand with their flipper to prepare a nest.

They deposit about 100 eggs in a single nest. And they lay around 3 to 7 nest during the nest season.

Sea turtles lay their eggs at night and return to the sea once the eggs are laid.

 

Can Turtle Lay Eggs In Water?

All animal reproduce where they live.

So, you may think that since turtles live in the water, they must be laying eggs in the water.

This is not true. Turtle do not lay eggs in the water. They lay eggs on the land so that they can survive.

Eggs cannot survive in the water as the embryos need to breathe air.

They breathe air thought a membrane in the eggs.

If the eggs are continuously covered with water, the embryos cannot breathe air, and so they cannot survive.

How Long Does It Take For A Turtle To Lay Eggs?

One thing that almost all turtle species have in common is that lay eggs on land.

Female turtle lay their eggs in clutches. Turtle lay their first clutch of eggs in about three to six weeks after mating. 

When the female turtle is ready to lay eggs, she digs a nest in the sand.

It takes one to three hours for turtles do dig the nest and lay eggs.

 

Do Turtle Lay Eggs Without Mating?

When we think of a female turtle laying eggs, the common conception is that she has matted with a male turtle.

However, you will be surprised to know that a female turtle can lay eggs without mating.

Every female turtle has eggs inside her body. So, she can lay eggs will be infertile and will not hatch.

A male turtle is required to fertilized the eggs so that babies are born.

Many wild turtles lay their eggs in the summer. They do this in response temperature change.

That is the main reason why female turtle come on land, and we see many eggs being laid in summer.

So, is it natural, or cloud there be any reason for them to lay eggs in large quantities?

 

Why Turtle Lay Many Eggs?

Turtle lay eggs to ensure that at least some of them survive and become adults. 

Turtle do not show motherly instinct after laying the eggs.

They leave their eggs and go back to the sea the hatchling have survive on their own. 

There are many predator always looking out for eggs to eat. 

They eat the eggs before the hatchling are born. Baby turtles are born from the eggs that survive. 

Following their birth, all babies turtle rush toward the water in a group so that they can hide in the water from their predator. 

However, not all hatchling are lucky enough to reach the ocean. 

Since they are very slow, most of the are easy prey to birds, crab, and other mammals. 

 

Related Question

Do Turtle Lays Eggs In The Same Place Every Year?

Turtle lay eggs in abidance at one time. They lay thousand of eggs in a lifetime. Turtles may lay eggs in the same place and at the same time. But is not necessary that they will return to lay eggs year after year. 

Do turtle stay with their eggs? Turtle do not stay with their eggs. once the female turtle lays her eggs, she covers it up with sand and then leaves the eggs to incubate eggs. it does not look after it eggs or baby turtles. 

 

How Many Eggs Does A Turtle Lay In A Year And It's Lifetime?

Turtle can lay hundreds of eggs in a nesting season. On average, sea turtle lay around 100 eggs in a nest. Female turtle usually lay between 1 to 9 clutches of eggs per season. It may nest in every 2 to 3 years. Flatback turtle lay the smallest clutches among all species. They lay approximately 5 eggs in a single clutch. 

Hawkbill turtles, on the other hand, lay the largest clutches. They may lay eggs over 200 eggs in a nest.

Female green turtle may lay eggs around 2000 to 2300 in its entire life.

 

Do Sea Turtle Lay Eggs At Night?

Sea turtle mostly lay eggs at the night. They do it so that the predator don't locate their nest. Female sea turtle return to the land from February to September to lay eggs.

After laying the eggs the female turtle covers the eggs with sand and moves back to the sea.

Turtle have backbones because they have vertebrae. unlike humans and other animals with backbones, the backbone of turtles is comprised of two part; the shell that form an exoskeleton and bony endoskeleton. the shell in turtles is very thought and is fuse with the spine and rib cage.

 

Let's talk about turtle's backbone in more detail now. 

 

A Closer Look at the Backbone of Turtles

You may already know that animals are classified into vertebrates and invertebrates

Vertebrates have backbones or spinal columns. meanwhile invertebrates lack a bony skeleton or backbone

Animal that belong to lower division of the animal kingdom are invertebrates

Turtle are reptiles so technical they have backbones however, their backbones are different from other animals

The ribs and backbone are fused to form the upper portion sea turtle's shell

So, it is a single rigid unit is non-pliable. hence turtles cannot bend or move their shell

However, turtles have small, flexible vertebrae in the neck and tail that allow them to move these parts

Now, the tough, bony shell of a turtle has two layers the outer area is formed of a protein call keratin

The keratin is arranged is arrange in the form of patches called scutes. 

The number of scutes will usually remain the same throughout a turtle's life 

However, these scutes develop more rings the turtle ages so, the rings within the scutes are an indicator of the turtles age

If you closely observe a turtle shell, you will notice that it's made of two parts

There is an upper dome-shaped structure and a flat lower structure

The upper part is called the carapace, while the lower half is the plastron

The carapace and the plastron are fuse along bony bridges that appears on the side of the turtle

This bridge extends from the forelegs to the hind legs in a circular fashion

The shell will also have space for the turtles head and limbs

When the turtle withdraws its head and limbs into the shell, the gaps for the head and the limbs remain exposed

How ever, some turtles have a hinge in the plastron

It allows them to pull the upper and lower halves of their shell together

This helps to minimize the gap where the head and the limbs appear

 

Can Turtle Live Without Their Shell?

We already saw that the shell is backbone of a turtle

Hence, it's an integral organ for animal

You may already know that the turtle retread into their shells when they sense danger

But did you know that their shell were not originally meant to be protective organs?

They would stay hidden inside their shell and wait for prey

When their prey came close, they would quickly shoot their heads out and catch

However, this organ later eveloved into protective armor that shielded the turtle form danger

Although shells are protective organs, remember that they are made of living bone

The shells as nerves bloody supply, and tissues 

Hence, a turtle can feel it when you touch its shell. if the shell is broken or injure, it pains

Since the shell is fused to the rest of the body a turtle cannot live without its shell

Hence, any stories you may have heard of a turtle abandoning its shell are purely fictional

Now, the good news is that a turtle can outgrow small shell injuries

Since it is made of living material. The shell can repair it self to great extent

However, recovery is very slow, hence it may not be able to survive if the shell is severely impacted or fractured

 

Do All Turtle Have Backbones?

Tehnically, all reptiles have backbones. The shell form backbone of a turtle

 

Do Sea Turtles have Backbones?

Did you know that sea turtles are one of the world's oldest vertebrates?

Their backbones are fuse to the shell composed of fused and wide ribs and bones

If you look at the shell closely, you will notice a raise line along the center that extend from head to tail

This is where the backbone of the animal is located

The shell is covered with horny plates called scutes in the most sea turtles

The pattern and number of scutes will usually vary from one species to another

While most aquatic and terrestrial turtles can at least partially withdraw their head and limb into their shells, sea turtle are unable to do so

Their shells are not big enough to conceal their heads and limbs and don't serve to hide them from danger

 

Do Leatherback Sea Turtle Have Backbones?

Leatherback sea turtle have unique shell structure

Unlike other turtles, their shell is soft and rubbery instead of hard and bony

However, these animals also have a backbone beneath the shell

In leatherback turtles, the spine is not fuse with the carapace

Instead, the backbones is covered with leather skin and supported bt tiny bones

The special adaption allows leatherback turtles to swim in the lowest depths of the ocean, where the pressure is extremely high

The water pressure at the lower depths of the ocean would crush a rigid, bony shell

However, the flexible leather shell of leatherback turtle can endure this high pressure