This turtle dug a nest in our backyard on a pile of dirt excavated from our pond. She started in the afternoon, digging a couple of depressions before choosing the spot on top. The picture below was taken around midnight, June 14.
By 6 am the next morning she was gone.
We didn't want the baby turtles hibernating in our pond since it's really shallow so we dug them up before they hatched and brought them inside. We tried shining a light on the eggs to see if they were viable but that didn't work.
Some of the eggs started to hatch Sept 14, about 3 months after being laid.
Group picture on Sept 15 where 6 of the 13 have left their shell. The baby in the middle still has a really big red yolk attached and can barely move. This particular baby had a swollen neck as well and died the following day.
The 7th baby died in its shell, so close to hatching.
Group picture on Sept 19. There are now 8 babies that have left their shells. They are surprisingly poor swimmers for aquatic turtles. They cannot float or swim on their first day and have to learn to inhale air in order to float.
There are still 3 eggs left, one of the eggs have twins in it. The twins don't look normal though. There's a film over their eyes.