Florida Turtle & Tortoise Nesting Sightings

Please do not touch or disrupt a turtle while nesting. When taking a picture please give the animal space and if possible wait for the turtle to finish if you need to get a better picture for ID. Even if the turtle fails to nest but was out trying you can still make a report and make a note in the notes section of the form.

The freshwater turtle nesting reports are a collaborative citizen science project with our friends at Santa Fe River Turtle Project to help us better understand the nesting season for individual species in the state of Florida. These data can be vital as environmental, human impacts and disease become more and more of a concern for our native wildlife including chelonians (turtles and tortoises). Our goal is to get up to date real time data to document nesting seasons, frequency of nesting based on species, range and location. This information is not shared publicly for the safety of the animals and is only used as data collection to support proper conservation measures.

When reporting, if you are not sure what species to choose please mark "Don't Know" in the species box. A good quality picture will help us determine species and will be used to verify each report. Although this is directed to freshwater turtles we do welcome nesting reports for box turtles, terrapins and tortoises , these choices are in the drop down box when choosing a species. Again you can always use “Don’t Know” if you are not sure.

What to look for-

Females will leave the water and move out onto land to find an appropriate nesting spot. This can mean traveling up a bank to lay eggs within a short range from the water or a few hundred feet or even a few hundred yards depending on species and availability of appropriate nesting habitat. They prefer to go looking for the right spot in the cooler morning/ evening hrs or after a good rain. Although peak season is spring to early fall some species like the chicken turtle wait until late fall to early winter to lay eggs so keep an eye out year round! When the female feels she has found a potential spot she will begin to dig a hole with her rear legs before depositing the eggs and covering them up. Turtles may start to dig then move on if the turtle doesn't approve of the spot and will try again somewhere else. This is not a quick process and the females are exhausted after nesting is complete! They may even return to the water and try another day if not successful. Its been documented that some species will use the same nesting site year after year. This is also why its discouraged to move a nesting female to another location if seen crossing the road or wandering in a yard. This can lead to egg laying complications like becoming egg bound leading to illness or death or dumping the eggs out in open or in water due to stress where they will never hatch. Other reasons not to move turtles is the spread of disease to other populations. More information on turtle fraservirus can be found on the “report TFV/TBV page”.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. You can also check out our quick ID resource to help you make your best guess or learn about the variety of species we have in the state of Florida. You can also check out our friends at Santa Fe River Turtle Project for additional facts and information.

Use this link to find our quick ID Page.

 Please fill out the form below about your turtle sighting.

Learn more on our “Education pages”