Nature Done Wright

Incorporating the Celery Farm and Screech Owl Companion blogs

June 6, 2013

Part II: Eastern Box Turtle Eggs

So once you see an Eastern Box Turtle laying eggs, what do you do?

Jury-rig something in a hurry to protect the eggs for the time-being, (below)

Then…

Contact the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey for advice.

Here's what the CWF's MacKenzie Hall recommended:

"You could try using hardware cloth or similar fencing material to surround the nest (kind of like a tree guard setup) – it just needs to be anchored firmly so a medium-sized mammal couldn't uproot it or dig underneath.

"Maybe cut little half-dollar sized openings at the bottom for hatchlings to exit through one they hatch in 2-3 months. A 5-sided (open-bottom) "cage" type contraction would also work to protect the nest from all sides. I'm seeing dug-up turtle nests all over the D&R canal - it's definitely the height of turtle season!" (Thanks, MacKenzie!)

I described the challenge to Ken Wiegand, who designed the following (which I then installed). (Thanks, Ken!) Will let you know if I hear anything more.