Thirteen images/videos on a Mama Turtle Laying Eggs!

When I first saw this turtle, she was about 50 yards away by the driveway. She was on a mission, but I didn't know it. I was cleaning weeds from backyard and had come around for cans. When I came back to the front to see if she was still there 10 minutes later, she had travelled quite a distance! She was busy digging sand and dirt!

Tags:   peninsular cooter (P. f. peninsularis) pond cooter turtle laying eggs Bradenton Florida

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Thirteen images/videos on a Mama Turtle Laying Eggs!

This is a pond cooter [peninsular cooter (P. f. peninsularis)]. She is busy digging three holes. The two outer ones are called satellite holes. She will drop eggs in each of the holes. Biologists believe this is an anti-predatorial technique. Opossums, armadillos, racoons, alligators, and other animals will eat these eggs if given the chance!

As she moves from hole to hole to hole, she is secreting a slimy liquid to better prepare the environment for the eggs. She stomps, digs, and secretes the liquid, as she moves around. This process takes about a half hour. The holes are probably about 5 - 7 inches deep.

Tags:   peninsular cooter (P. f. peninsularis) pond cooter turtle laying eggs Bradenton Florida

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Thirteen images/videos on a Mama Turtle Laying Eggs!

This is a solitary creature, except for mating. Peninsula cooters can also often be found moving around the habitat, usually guided by resource needs. The average age of sexual or reproductive maturity (female) is 5-7 years. It is amazing to me that she would be at least this age!

Peninsula cooters have a life expectancy of 30 years!

The Average number of offspring is 11 - 16 eggs.

Resource: McCoy, C. 2019. "Pseudemys peninsularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed December 08, 2019 at animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pseudemys_peninsularis/

Tags:   peninsular cooter (P. f. peninsularis) pond cooter turtle laying eggs Bradenton Florida

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Thirteen images/videos on a Mama Turtle Laying Eggs!

I found it so interesting that this whole process took less than 1 1/2 hours. The entire time, she kept the right leg firmly planted to keep her balance, regarding her mission! She NEVER once looked around to make sure she was doing things correctly!

Tags:   peninsular cooter (P. f. peninsularis) pond cooter turtle laying eggs Bradenton Florida

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Thirteen images/videos on a Mama Turtle Laying Eggs!

I watched as she lay about five eggs. This can come quickly. Sometimes, she rests, and then starts up again. I left her alone after awhile. I am guessing she lay about 15 eggs. I am amazed that they didn't break as she stepped from one hole to the next.

Tags:   peninsular cooter (P. f. peninsularis) pond cooter turtle laying eggs Bradenton Florida

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