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Name: Jane P
Status: educator
Age: 50s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 2001
Question:
When do box turtles mate? How to find the eggs? Can you collect the eggs and hatch turtles in the classroom?

Replies:
Eastern box turtles in Illinois (southern half of the state, they are not native to most of the northern part of Illinois) usually mate in spring and lay eggs in June or July. They lay eggs in loamy soil and if the nest is not discovered by predators it is very hard to find. It might be possible to hatch eggs indoors by keeping them in soil in a terrarium but I am not sure that would be a good idea. It is probably best to teach the value of leaving wild things undisturbed in their natural habitats. If for some reason however you could salvage eggs from an already disturbed nest you might be able to hatch them.

J. Elliott

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