SEA TURTLE LIFE CYCLE – Egg Incubation

Typically, anywhere from 80-120 eggs can be found within an egg chamber. This, of course, can fluctuate with species.

Sea turtle eggs are spherical, like a ping pong ball, rather than an oval, like a chicken egg. They also have soft shells, rather than a hard exterior. Having a soft shell allows for the egg to withstand the force of being dropped into an egg chamber, which can be anywhere from 2-6 feet deep into the sand depending on the species, without breaking open.

The eggs are also porous, meaning that it allows for gases, such as oxygen, and liquids, such as water, to pass freely through the membrane. This is imperative for the successful development of an embryo into a sea turtle hatchling.

INCUBATION FACTS

Sea turtle eggs incubate for about 2 months
Temperature Dependent Sex Determination: We like to say, “hot chicks, cool dudes”, meaning that warmer temperatures result in more females, while cooler temperatures result in more males
Temperature, rain, dryness, size of sand grains, depth of egg chamber are all examples of factors that can either slow down or speed up incubation time

After about two months, under the cover of darkness, the eggs will hatch out of their soft, porous shells and the hatchlings will climb up through the coarse, damp, sand all together as if they are bubbles of water boiling over in a pot.