Hi, all, and Happy Holidays!
I was cleaning out
my African Sideneck's sandbox today and was very surprised to find 12 eggs buried under the sand! We adopted Winnie November 2nd of 2015 and she has been in her tank by herself since then, and so I am quite sure she was simply gravid and these eggs are infertile? I have no idea what the gestation period is for an ASN, however.
On the very unlikely chance that these eggs are fertile - and although I am not well-equipped to incubate eggs - I put them in a plastic container and am trying to keep them warm (but not too warm... I've read 90F is dangerously high, and low 70s are getting too low) and not too dry either. Regrettably I do not know when she laid them, either, or in how many clutches (can my tiny Winnie hold 12 of these big eggs in her all at once??).
Even worse, I had no idea (today was the first time I've ever even
seen a turtle egg in person before) there was a "right-side up" for each egg depending on how it was laid... I was very gentle with the eggs, but I can guarantee you that I was not remaining cognisant of their orientation when I removed them from the sandbox and put them into another container.
Please let me know of any advice you have. Winnie seems to be acting perfectly fine and so I am assuming she doesn't need any special after-care from me.
Thanks in advance!