Softshell Turtle Eggs: Care, Incubation & Hatching Guide for Beginners

Breeding softshell turtles and hatching their eggs takes patience and care. The good news is that a beginner can absolutely do it with the right setup and a little know-how.

A female softshell turtle lays 4 to 38 hard, round eggs per clutch and may nest several times a year. Once you collect the eggs, you incubate them in vermiculite at 80 to 85°F with 80 to 90% humidity. The babies hatch after 60 to 90 days.

This is a complete, beginner-friendly guide to softshell turtle eggs. We will cover nesting, clutch size, collecting and incubating the eggs, checking them for fertility, hatching, and caring for the hatchlings.

New to the species overall? Start with our softshell turtle care guide first.

Not sure when your turtle eggs will hatch? Try our free Turtle Egg Hatch Calculator for instant predictions!

When Do Softshell Turtles Lay Eggs?

Softshell turtles usually nest in late spring and early summer. In most regions that means somewhere between March and July, depending on the climate.

A single female can lay more than one clutch in a season. She often spaces them a few weeks apart.

Softshells are highly aquatic, but they cannot lay eggs in water. The female hauls out onto land and looks for sandy or soft, muddy soil to dig her nest.

In the wild, some species even nest near or inside alligator nests for protection. In captivity, you will need to give her a dedicated nesting area so she does not drop the eggs in the water.

How Many Eggs Do Softshell Turtles Lay?

A softshell turtle lays 4 to 38 eggs per clutch, and the exact number depends on the species and the size of the female.

Larger species like the Florida softshell tend to lay the biggest clutches. Here is a rough guide for the three common North American softshells.

Species	Typical Clutch Size	Notes
Florida Softshell	Up to 38+ eggs	The largest clutches. May lay several clutches a season.
Spiny Softshell	9 to 38 eggs	Round, hard-shelled eggs. Nests on sandy banks.
Smooth Softshell	3 to 28 eggs	Smaller clutches on average.

Younger, first-time females usually lay fewer eggs. Clutch size tends to grow as the turtle matures.

What Do Softshell Turtle Eggs Look Like?

Here is where softshells surprise people. Their eggs are hard and brittle, not soft and leathery like most turtle eggs.

The eggs are almost perfectly round, white, and about the size of a ping-pong ball. The shell is calcified, so it feels more like a bird’s egg than a typical reptile egg.

That hard shell is delicate in its own way. It can crack easily if dropped or squeezed, so always handle the eggs gently.

Signs Your Softshell Turtle Is About to Lay Eggs

A gravid softshell turtle gives off clear signals before nesting. Watch for these behavior changes.

• She spends far more time on land than usual, even though she is an aquatic turtle.
• She becomes restless and paces around the enclosure looking for a nesting spot.
• She loses her appetite and may refuse food for a few days.
• Her walk looks different and more labored while she is carrying eggs.
• She starts test-digging in the soil with her hind legs, deeper and more deliberate than normal digging.

If you see these signs, set up a nesting area right away. A frustrated female with nowhere to dig may become egg-bound, which is a medical emergency that needs a vet.

A good nesting box is a deep tub of slightly damp sand or a sand-and-soil mix. Make it at least as deep as the turtle is long, since she digs a hole close to her own body length.

What to Do After Your Softshell Turtle Lays Eggs

Softshell turtles are excellent egg hiders. She will pack the hole back down so well that you may struggle to find it, so keep a close eye on her while she nests.

Once the eggs are laid, you have two choices: let them incubate naturally or move them to an incubator.

In captivity, natural incubation is risky. You cannot control temperature and humidity in an open enclosure, so most keepers incubate the eggs instead for a much higher hatch rate.

Before you move any eggs, remember one golden rule. Do not rotate or flip them.

• Mark the top of each egg with a soft pencil dot before you lift it, so you always know which side is up.
• Gently brush off dirt with a soft paintbrush. Do not wash the eggs.
• Use a spoon or your fingers to move them, keeping the marked side facing up the whole time.

The reason is simple. Once the embryo attaches to the top of the shell, turning the egg can drown or crush it.

How to Incubate Softshell Turtle Eggs

You can incubate softshell eggs two ways: a simple DIY box or a commercial reptile incubator (recommended: reptile egg incubator). Both work when the temperature and humidity are right.

Vermiculite is the go-to incubation medium. Skip plain sand, since it packs down and limits the oxygen the eggs need.

Method 1: DIY Vermiculite Incubator

This low-cost setup is perfect for beginners. Here is the step-by-step.

1. Get a sturdy plastic container with a lid. Size it to the clutch, since a big female can lay 20-plus eggs.
2. Poke a few small holes in the lid for ventilation.
3. Mix vermiculite with water by weight, roughly 1 part water to 1 part vermiculite. Measuring by weight, not volume, is critical.
4. The mix is right when it clumps if squeezed but does not drip water.
5. Fill the container partway, leaving a couple of inches of space at the top.
6. Nestle each egg halfway into the vermiculite, marked side up, without pressing it in hard. Leave the top of the egg exposed.
7. Cover with the lid and place the box somewhere warm and stable, or inside a larger heated incubator.

Want the full walkthrough for a no-incubator setup? See our guide on how to hatch turtle eggs without an incubator.

Method 2: Commercial Incubator

A commercial reptile incubator gives you tighter temperature control. It is worth it if you hatch eggs often.

1. Clean the incubator inside and out with a reptile-safe disinfectant before use.
2. Add a tray of damp vermiculite or perlite as the substrate.
3. Set the temperature and humidity, then run it empty for 24 hours to confirm it holds steady.
4. Place the eggs marked-side up, following the same handling rules as the DIY method.
5. Close it up and check the eggs once or twice a week.

Ideal Temperature and Humidity for Softshell Turtle Eggs

Keep softshell turtle eggs at 80 to 85°F with 80 to 90% humidity throughout incubation.

Stable warmth is the single biggest factor in a healthy hatch. Big temperature swings are far more damaging than a steady reading at the low end of the range.

Humidity matters just as much because these eggs must not dry out. Put a hygrometer inside the container so you can watch both readings at a glance.

If the vermiculite starts looking dry, mist the sides of the container lightly. Never pour water directly onto the eggs.

Does Temperature Decide the Sex of Softshell Turtle Eggs?

No. Unlike many turtles, softshell turtles do not have temperature-dependent sex determination.

In species like map turtles and box turtles, incubation temperature decides whether you get males or females. Softshells are different.

Their sex is set by genetics, so a clutch produces a natural mix of males and females no matter the incubation temperature. That means you can focus purely on keeping the temperature in the healthy range, without trying to steer the sex ratio.

How to Candle Softshell Turtle Eggs

Candling lets you check whether an egg is fertile without cracking it open. All you need is a small, bright flashlight in a dark room.

Hold the light gently against the side of the egg. Do not lift or rotate the egg to do it.

• A fertile egg develops a pinkish or white opaque band around the middle, often with a network of tiny blood vessels.
• An infertile egg stays clear or uniformly yellow when you shine the light through it.

Wait a couple of weeks into incubation before candling. Signs of development are hard to see in the first few days.

How to Tell If a Softshell Turtle Egg Has Gone Bad

Not every egg makes it, and a spoiled egg can threaten the healthy ones nearby. Watch for these warning signs.

• A foul, rotten smell coming from the egg.
• Fuzzy mold or a slimy film growing on the shell.
• A caved-in, badly discolored, or weeping shell.

A little surface staining on its own is normal, so do not panic over minor discoloration. If an egg clearly smells rotten or grows mold, remove it carefully so it does not spread to the rest of the clutch.

How Long Do Softshell Turtle Eggs Take to Hatch?

Softshell turtle eggs hatch after about 60 to 90 days, or roughly 2 to 3 months, at the right temperature.

Warmer nests within the safe range hatch a bit faster, while cooler ones take longer. Some eggs in a clutch simply run late.

When it is time, the hatchling slices the shell open with a temporary egg tooth called a caruncle. The egg tooth drops off soon after hatching.

Never help a cracking egg open. The baby needs to absorb its yolk sac first, and forcing the shell can kill it. It is also normal for 1 or 2 eggs in a clutch to never hatch.

Softshell Turtle Hatchling Care

Once the babies hatch, the real work begins. Baby softshells are a little bigger than most hatchlings and need room from day one.

Plan on a minimum 25-gallon tank for one or two hatchlings. Set it up like an adult tank, just smaller.

Add a filter, a water heater, a UVB light (my pick: Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0), and a basking lamp (my pick: Zoo Med PowerSun) over a dry dock. Softshells also love a soft sand bottom they can burrow into.

Housing and Tankmates

Softshell turtles are naturally aggressive, so housing matters. Never mix hatchlings with adult turtles or with each other once they start to grow.

While they are still tiny and less aggressive, small feeder fish like guppies can share the tank for a while. Keep no more than two hatchlings together, and separate them as they grow. See our guide on softshell turtle tankmates for the full rundown.

Feeding Baby Softshell Turtles

Hatchlings are strongly carnivorous. Feed them worms, insects, small feeder fish, and a quality turtle pellet (my pick: Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Diet).

Skip vegetables for babies, since they want protein to grow. Dust meals with a calcium and vitamin D3 supplement to build strong bones and shell.

For a full chart, see what softshell turtles eat as pets.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

A few simple errors ruin more clutches than anything else. Steer clear of these.

• Rotating the eggs. Turning an egg after the embryo attaches can kill it. Always keep the marked side up.
• Letting eggs stay in water. If a female drops eggs in the tank, they will likely drown the embryos. Give her a nesting box to prevent it.
• Using sand as the medium. Sand compacts and starves the eggs of oxygen. Use vermiculite or perlite.
• Wild temperature swings. An unstable incubator is worse than a slightly cool but steady one.
• Helping a hatchling out. Let it emerge on its own timeline once it has absorbed its yolk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are softshell turtle eggs hard or soft?

They are hard and brittle. Softshell eggs have a calcified, round shell that feels more like a bird’s egg than the leathery eggs most turtles lay.

Where do softshell turtles lay their eggs?

On land, in sandy or soft, muddy soil near water. Despite being highly aquatic, they cannot lay eggs underwater and must come ashore to nest.

How deep do softshell turtles bury their eggs?

Roughly as deep as the female’s own body length. She digs the chamber with her hind legs, then packs it tightly and smooths it over.

Can you move softshell turtle eggs?

Yes, but only within the first day and without rotating them. Mark the top before lifting, keep that side up, and move them gently to the incubator.

Conclusion

Caring for softshell turtle eggs comes down to a few basics: a proper nesting box, careful handling, steady warmth, and patience. Get those right and a beginner can hatch a healthy clutch.

Keep the eggs marked-side up, hold 80 to 85°F and high humidity, and wait out the 60 to 90 days. When you hit a snag, a reptile vet is always the safest next call.