When does the soft-shelled turtle lay eggs?

Anyone who has raised a soft-shelled turtle knows that when the soft-shelled turtle reaches a certain age, it will lay eggs, and the eggs laid can be hatched into a small soft-shelled turtle again. When will the soft-shelled turtle lay eggs?

When does the soft-shelled turtle lay eggs?

Soft-shelled turtles generally lay eggs from May to August, and can lay eggs many times a year, of which June to July is the peak period for spawning. Spawning occurs mostly in the middle of the night, and the north can lay eggs 2-3 times a year, while the south can lay eggs 4-5 times a year. Before spawning, the soft-shelled turtle crawls into the sand on the shore to make a nest, then lays the eggs in the nest and covers it with sand.

How do soft-shelled turtles lay eggs and hatch?

The main results are as follows: 1. The fertilized eggs of naturally hatched soft-shelled turtles hatch in wet sand, and it takes 60-80 days to hatch naturally in the wild. After 1 or 2 days, the umbilical cord of the hatched soft-shelled turtle fell off and climbed out of the ground. Young soft-shelled turtles have the habit of going to water and can take the initiative to find places with water and live in the water.

2. Artificial hatching of soft-shelled turtle eggs is one of the main ways to improve the hatching rate and economic benefits of soft-shelled turtle culture. Conditional soft-shelled turtle farms and professional turtle farmers should adopt the method of artificial hatching of soft-shelled turtle eggs.

The main results are as follows: (1) the parent soft-shelled turtle began to lay eggs in May, so the egg collection began in May. Every morning in the spawning ground according to the footprints of the female soft-shelled turtle spawning carefully search the egg hole, and mark the egg hole, but do not rush to collect eggs, it should be 30 hours after egg production. Every time when collecting eggs, we should also carefully check the open space outside the spawning ground to prevent parent turtles from digging holes everywhere and be omitted. Egg collection can be done in containers such as egg collection boxes or washbasins, or in incubators. When collecting eggs, lay a layer of fine sand or rice husk in the egg collection container and discharge the egg animals neatly upward. At the same time, be careful not to break the egg shell. After collecting eggs, the egg hole should be leveled but maintained a certain inclination, and then sprinkle some water to keep the sand moist, so that the next group of spawning parent turtles can look for the egg hole.

(2) the identification of fertilized eggs is based on the external characteristics of soft-shelled turtle eggs. When the soft-shelled turtle egg is observed with the naked eye, the size of the egg is large, there is a white spot at the top of the egg, and there is a clear light around the white spot. When the white spot gradually extends to the central part of the egg with the passage of time, it can be judged to be a fertilized egg. If there is no white spot or irregular white spot at one end of the egg, it will be judged as an unfertilized egg. Therefore, through observation, malformed eggs, eggshell ruptured eggs, fishy-smelling dead eggs and unfertilized eggs should be removed in time, otherwise these eggs will decay and affect the hatching of fertilized eggs.

(3) the artificial hatching of hatched turtle eggs can be divided into two forms: hatchery hatching and indoor incubator hatching. When hatching, the hatchery should be built in a place with high terrain, sunny shelter from the wind, good drainage conditions, close to the spawning ground and easy to manage, and the area is generally 4~10m2. The indoor floor is covered with a layer of gravel or coarse sand, which is covered with 30~50cm thick fine sand. When hatching, the fertilized eggs are placed on the sand surface and arranged into several layers. 2~3cm is spaced between the layers, and a layer of fine sand is spread on the uppermost egg. The temperature of the hatchery should be controlled at about 30 ℃ and the humidity should be controlled at 75% to 85%. Windows should be opened regularly for ventilation every day, and should be opened when the humidity is too high.

Generally speaking, soft-shelled turtles usually spawn from May to August, and can lay eggs 2-3 times a year in the north and 4-5 times in the north. Before spawning, soft-shelled turtles make nests in advance, and then lay eggs covered with sand to allow them to hatch freely.