Southwestern Pond Turtle Project

Five Turtles Hatch In 2007

On Wednesday October 3rd before 6:30 a.m. the turtle team became proud parents of a wiggly hatchling Southwestern Pond Turtle. Then on Thursday a second egg hatched. The 5th and final viable egg hatched on October 11th.

Back to where it began, six eggs were laid by a recently captured female on July 6, 2007 in the special Pond Turtle enclosure built by the Turtle Team of Darrell Barnes, Bill Foster, Birdie Foster, Chris Hancock, Gordon Hancock, Jeff King, Dave Kurdeka and Reed Tollefson. It took between 89 and 97 days to hatch the individual turtle eggs in a special incubator which was temperature and humidity controlled. Each of these little guys or gals hatch slightly smaller than a quarter.

A new hatchling is so tiny it would be just an hors d'oeuvres for a bass or bullfrog. The purpose of the turtle project is to raise pond turtle hatchlings to a releasable size 70 mm or greater.

Male Southwestern Pond Turtle, notice the pale throat and thick tail.

A male hatching Southwestern Pond Turtle.

Female Southwestern Pond Turtle notice the thin tail and the spotted throat.