Heyes Family

Well, it turns out that the first predator in my garden ( or rather weed patch )  was a HUGE snapping turtle.  By the size of her, we figure she must be about 30-40 years old!  We wondered what she was doing there, but it soon became obvious as she dug a hole and laid 35 eggs!  It was amazing to see, and grandpa says probably a once in a life time opportunity!  The ground around here is mostly clay, and after a bit of research, we found out that turtle eggs do better in sand.  So we decided to dig them up and “plant” them in a tray of sand.  I don’t think we are messing with nature too much here, as the little babys fend for themselves when they hatch, and have no contact with the mother.  The incubation period is 9-18 weeks, so that means that at the end of August, we could have a bunch of tiny little turtle friends… how exciting

Follow this link for a video of her laying her eggs!