Protecting a Turtle Nest Until the Eggs Hatch

[@ksm2242]

I really enjoy the animation and you do an excellent job of narrating.

[@BackToReality]

Thanks ksm! I really appreciate that!

[@eman2093]

@@BackToRealityhow did you create the animation?

[@kassandrawaleczak6040]

Many years ago, a friend had a snapping turtle problem in his trout pond. One day, we observed a female laying eggs outside of his pond. He gathered her up with a shovel when she was done and transported her to another pond. I dug up her eggs and put them in the back of my truck, keeping them covered in mud. I thought it might be interesting to see if they hatched. They did! After they finished, I took them to a different place. It was so neat to watch them hatch and be able to put them somewhere that they could be safe and not invasive. Thank you for the wonderful video!

[@daryasevastopolska9885]

As a conservation biologist in the making, I believe you did the right thing - thank you for your good work and effort. The species you protected is endangered, while its usual predator is quite well, so in those terms it was clear what was the best option - help the tortoise or let nature take its course. Still, it's good that you contacted an organisation to tell them about what you were doing and the results, because sometimes there are other variants that are not so obvious and can only be taken into account by people who are used to study these animals. So in my view, you did everything more than great guys. Thank you for helping conserving wild, endangered species and for giving the public all the precious informations about your experiments. Cheers!

[@lindaoneill5090]

This is such a good video instruction and downright enjoyable. My neighbor and I are attempting to protect a nest of turtle eggs next to his home, which he saw being made last night. I'll share this with him. Being very handy and enjoying building and fixing things, he'll make a framed screen protection in no time. A great many thanks for giving all this valuable information. Hope Sandy lives a long and happy life. He/she's lucky to have such a deeply good protector.

[@damebucolique]

An epic visual and narrative quality for a good action for protecting this little and cute turtle. Thanks for your job and sharing. It was very interesting.

[@BackToReality]

Thanks Mademoiselle! I appreciate the feedback, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@damienomen68]

@@BackToReality Awesome stuff !!

[@berti642]

Sorry, not a turtley comment, although I enjoyed your vlog, but more just to say , yet again I know, how much difference your channel has made to us. Last night for instance, 7 different veg on our plates ! 45 mins from garden to plate. I’ve had to go elsewhere to learn about gardening in my own climate but the inspiration for change belongs to you guys. From 260 square feet of very average productivity and backbreaking work to 720 square feet of productive with no pain ! this year. Now next year that is to double at least plus a poly tunnel with future orders for veg boxes which I didn’t instigate but are being asked for and hopefully a whole bunch going to the local food bank because its been so easy. Wish I could send you pics. Thankyou guys. Hope this finds you well and happy. 😊 Ben n Sandra

[@BackToReality]

Thanks so much for the update Ben. I really appreciate hearing about your success, and am so glad that we've played a part in the inspiration! Sounds like you're making a real difference (for yourself AND others) and we couldn't be happier!

[@keshm5363]

You are blessed, as you are witnessing mother nature

[@BackToReality]

Couldn't agree more :) Thanks Kesh!

[@claudegagne2805]

Thank you for a greatly entertaining but vastly informative video. I too have a few nests here on my new property in Sharbot Lake. (1 hour north of Kingston) We saw the first eggs back in May after the ravages of a raccoon family and again a week ago. But today I managed to spot a turtle while laying and I covered up the nest best I could. I`ll keep an eye out and I`ll report it to the county. Thanks again for the info.

[@Doityourselfwithjoe]

I live in northwest Indiana, and to live by a pond. Been here for 3 years now and each spring I saved a turtle nest from predators. I protected them from raccoons with a household fan shroud and staked it to the ground. First year I saved nine turtles, second year 4 turtles and this year 8. After waiting the 72 to 80 days i drill a small hole into the nest and check on them with an endoscopy camera to see if they have hatched. Then I dig them up and let them live the first year in an aquarium. where they are safe and then let them go. They go from being the size of a nickel to the size of a large baseball. While saving those nests i noticed i have also mised nearly a dozen of them. Like you said finding them dug up and shells everywhere. Great video!

[@hiringsquad140]

Thank you very much for making such a well documented and informative video. I've been rescuing and relocating reptiles for a while, the biggest thing you can do is get informed on how important these little guys are. Every turtle or other reptile you can avoid hitting on the road or moving is saving decades of their growth not wasted on the pavement. Thank you guys for the beautiful thing you both did!

[@Sraccoon68]

Was out walking with my sons a few years ago when we came along a turtle digging and laying her eggs. Felt pretty good seeing and having my kids and I experience this. Definitely not something ya see everyday; heck, probably in most peoples life time :)

[@BackToReality]

That's awesome Sheldon! It felt really good to witness this as well. It's one of those "miracles of life" that happen all around us every day, but rarely right in front of us. I'm sure your kids still remember the experience too!

[@Sraccoon68]

Absolutely! It's brought up every time we get together so of course out comes the little video of it lol grand memories

[@michaelbalfour3170]

My greatest regret in life was when I was in Cyprus, I hitched a lift from a retired expat whom took time out of his day to help turtles, he told me they'd likely be hatching the next night but instead I went into town for a party. My greatest regret, honestly.

[@superveganwhat]

Bless you we would have done the same thing

[@BackToReality]

That's awesome SuperVeganWhat! I'm glad to hear it :)

[@lynz45]

I would of too.

[@veselinnedkov643]

Your videos make me feel smarter. Thank you for sharing all the research you do and for presenting it in such an easy to understand way.

[@ianmorris4468]

Who knew Canada had turtles lol!

[@BackToReality]

We sure do! It's not just beavers and moose ;)

[@sherry2836]

How fortunate you are to be part of that whole event! Yes, sometimes it is necessary for human intervention. How did Sandy get out from your cage? I thought you put it there to protect the nest until they all hatched? Hopefully he was the first; please let us know if/when the others appear.

[@BackToReality]

We've checked the nest daily to make sure none of the hatchlings got caught under the screen. However, in Sandy's case, he/she just dug under the side of the wooden frame after digging out of the nest. We haven't seen any siblings (yet), so we're hoping that the rest of them dug out at the same time as Sandy, but simply made it to the pond before we noticed them. Fingers crossed :)

[@sherry2836]

@@BackToReality The survival instinct is so strong! Let's hope you see Sandy around for years to come.

[@AndreaM77]

Bless you for your beautiful compassionate hearts. Turtles are my favorite animal. I've been rescuing them out of the highway all my life. 😊🐢

[@romithomasm4104]

You guys are a gift to the world 🙏🏾

[@robertkeller9574]

Go Sandy Go!! Good on you guys! Very touching, I never understood why some people just walk from helping while other's such as yourself likely gave Sandy a fighting chance!! In 80 years Sandy could have helped in creating a vibrant turtle community!! Wonderful story!!

[@bryanmcdonough2436]

I'm glad to see the other people. Try to help their wildlife survive such as myself. We don't see many these days that even care about the nature around them, much less helping it survive. Although you are not in my area, thank you for doing your part in conserving our wildlife!!! I am currently in the process of trying to hatch out a few box turtle. Eggs for the same reason. Raccoons, never let them. You can get close to hatching around here before. They are gobbled up, so the fact that I found her laying her. Eggs. Last night it was a miracle, so I'm going to do my part to see that they get to hatch this year.

[@KODArunner]

May God bless Sandy and keep him/her alive and well.

[@BackToReality]

Thanks Richard :)

[@FknNefFy]

Hehe what a very good and informative video! I spotted one laying eggs today at my apartment complex pond but there are always landscapers around so I wanted to make sure they were safe and put up a little sign to say “watch out - baby turtles -don’t step here!”

[@robertshea-de-gore]

the most informative and useful video on what these turtles are doing, thank you! We live in Gore, QC, north west of Montreal in the Laurentians, on a marshy lake, and have a number of turtles come up the hill from the lake onto various sloping areas around our house to lay their eggs, starts usually early June and they come for a few weeks. I estimate about 6-8 different turtles have come up, or a few have made more than one trip, and they attempt to dig holes into the rocky soil and lay their eggs. I had no idea these eggs are there that long, we'll keep our eyes open for when they finally hatch and see if we can help them avoid any predators as well. We don't have many, an occasional racoon, a porcupine, and some marmots who seems to only be interested in vegetation.

[@florafauna4584]

Beautiful, generous and thoughtful of you, much thanks for uploading.

[@jamesw6484]

Something like this rejuvenate me! Thank you! 🙂❤ We need more good people like you.

[@Slipping_thru_the_Seams]

found your channel today. i love your animations and the content you choose to make. good vibes, down to earth and entertaining. ❤️

[@barryglassner8385]

Thank you! I found a large painted turtle laying eggs in my backyard this morning! Now I know what to do!

[@BurkeMakesStuff]

Do I’ve only just stumbled onto your channel and have been thoroughly impressed! Subscribed and am binge watching it all, even as I type. What is the program you use to do the animations? Outstanding!

[@udayatulachan6415]

Your love of nature will inspire others to do so.Thank you very much

[@donnadelcore1976]

Thank you for sharing this video. I have a turtle that played eggs last year, I only found 1deceased baby 😢. This year Rosey is back. I will cover her eggs & hope the eggs will hatch & I can help them get to their pond.

[@suffolkshepherd]

You build the best videos.. I am fairly long time subscriber for gardening tips. This morning I happened across a a turtle laying eggs by the creek by my garden. I came in a started looking for info on how to protect, how long to hatch etc and see that one of my favorite channels has info. LOL

[@brianwhite9555]

How utterly awesome! I've been fond of reptiles and amphibians since I was a very young boy, always looking for frogs, turtles, snakes any time I was fortunate to be around overgrown fields, woodlands, or ponds & lakes, which wasn't often enough for this city boy. Actually found a Blanding's Turtle once, which I left undisturbed. How wonderful that you got to watch her lay the eggs, and that you thoughtfully protected the nest until hatching. Filming was excellent! Did you eventually open the nest to see if all the eggs hatched out? Thanks so much for sharing!

[@BackToReality]

Hey Brian, we finally decided to carefully open the nest a few days ago to see what was left inside. Turns out there must have been other baby turtles that made it to the pond before we noticed Sandy, because we found a handful of eggshells that were all empty. :)

[@SmallGardenQuest]

Is this a Halloween theme? "I like turtles!"

[@BackToReality]

Lol, completely unintentional. But I'll take it! ;)

[@SmallGardenQuest]

@@BackToReality Nice to see that you know some old-school memes. Props for that :D

[@floriebrown2089]

Thanks for trying to rescue and preserve the baby turtle and thanks for the video.

[@katheryn8272]

I used a square piece of wire fencing that comes in a roll at the hardware store. I put a brick paver on each side. Once it gets close to the eggs hatching, I will raise the fencing to create a dome shape with the wire fencing.

[@RiverPlaid]

Beautiful video.🌼 I’m sharing this with my daughter immediately.🌼

[@lisajohnston3453]

Thank you I love watching videos like this. Keep up the good work!

[@BackToReality]

Thanks Lisa, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@sandymoreida7957]

Hi. My name is Sandy lol. I found a turtle crossing the road and i pulled over and rescue it after doing some research it turns out that it's a female after 1 month later she decided to dig holes but didn't laid eggs after 2 months she started to dig holes again and just yesterday September 24 2021 finally she laid her eggs so here i am researching on how to protect them and thank you for this video it did help.

[@laurieanne9712]

Wow! I learned soooo much! Thank you!!

[@BackToReality]

Thanks Yafa, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@rickcowan7527]

Thanks for this Instructive and engaging video! Now we know what to do to protect the nest a snapper makes every year on our property.

[@Jim_woods]

That's awesome keep up the great work with those turtles. I have a soft spot for turtles.

[@BackToReality]

Thanks Jim! I have a soft spot for turtles too. Always have. :)

[@Denpachii]

While watching the traveling animation I could only think "Dang, that is one fast turtle". There is no shortage of turtles near where I live in NE PA. Ponds and streams galore, painted and snappers being the most common, with wood turtles showing up on occasion.

[@MyrlandeMondesir-e6f]

Thank you for this video. I just witnessed a turtle laying her eggs and a crow got to one of them before I could save it. I needed to know how to protect the nest and your video helped a great deal. Hopefully, I can protect however many is left in the hole. I can see at least 1.

[@BackToReality]

You are so welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful, and good luck with the rest of the eggs!

[@robhall3693]

Thank you for all this amazing information. My family and I are watching a snapper dig her hole... it's 8pm and we can't stay up tonight..... there is definitely a raccoon in the area... fingers crossed.

[@redinthethevalley]

Hey guys👋🏼 this was fantastic!! What shocked me the most was how many different species are at risk🥺 I feel kinda awkward to be honest as I have turtles on our farm here and never have I even thought about them potentially being at risk?!! Wow definitely gonna show this to my hubby and son and do our part to help them along as well!! Thanks so very much for this we all have a responsibility in my opinion to help these animals for obvious reasons😉 hope you two are doing well and weren’t too badly affected by the “drought” this summer... we were very fortunate to have a bumper crop of hay believe it or not as apposed to our neighbors, around us they suffered major losses in many aspects of their crops( we have two veins of water that go through our front fields hence our “luck” but the garden was a bust not one thing grew 😒 gonna be a long costly winter 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ anyhow hugs to ya both!! Cheers Cindy ( Ottawa valley😉)

[@thomasbaker26]

If you're interested in turtle conservation, one thing you could look into is Wood Turtle-friendly haying techniques. Wood Turtles often like to graze in hay fields but then can be at risk of being killed or maimed by farm equipment. I think there are Wood Turtles in the Ottawa Valley though I may be mistaken. You could try getting in contact with a local wildlife research organization, they should know if there are Wood Turtles in your area and may have knowledge on haying techniques that they can share. Cheers!

[@doinacampean9132]

Awww... what a cute little thing!!! Great video, as always!

[@HelenRullesteg]

What a great experience. "Crying and pooping" lol!!

[@stilcrazychris]

Bless there little hearts. Those little turtles sure are fighters. I've never thought about turtles in this way. Thank you for informing us. You are good people's. May you be blessed in 101 ways or more, Chris from Missouri

[@LivingRedefined]

Cute little guy just sitting in the pond :D

[@wildedibles819]

Our town built a lovely park... But they put Gravel down for path ways covering the fine sand that the Turtles use to lay eggs

[@summonerswarcanada8306]

Love your videos !!! Maybe do a tour of your land or another update video! Or talk about how you two met or your thoughts on something interesting Lol anything would be good cause you two are very cute couple :)

[@victorybeginsinthegarden]

who does your animation i think you need to do a behind the scene video

[@BackToReality]

I (Derrick) do all of the animations. That's a great suggestion... I'll work on that. Thanks!

[@alfiyasayed8657]

I don't have a whole backyard sort of a thing. It is just a small area with sand so my turtle egg will survive? Di I need to take some precautions?

[@TauhidAhmad]

Finally New Video ♥️

[@catherinehoang6495]

Wow! Awesome video! Can you do the same for Sulcata Tortoise?

[@John-eh6jg]

Thanks buddy great video . have the giant snapping turtle laying eggs on my lawn for the last 15yrs but recently I've had an influx of raccoons and cats . I want to protect the nest . Would your method work for snapping turtles or do I need to make bigger holes?

[@kimbrady7478]

Hi, Just watched video of (Potato Plants Have Poisonous Fruit?) I had it happen again this year. tried to post a picture of them but it took up the hole page. just want to let you know. And Thank You for the info. didn't know what they where.

[@pathopkins4882]

l will say this again,YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN A TEACHER!!! Great video❤️

[@yortsemloh1156]

A box turtle here laid her eggs on the side of a hill where water flows during rain. I put some bricks around it so the water won’t wash them away. It hasn’t rained here in over a week so I poured a little water on the ground covering them so they don’t dry out. Is that good or bad?

[@rogermatth]

Thank you.

[@brenolk4642]

There’s a Blandings turtle laying eggs right outside our house, it’s currently night and she probably won’t finish till the morning and yes, raccoons are in the area, one factor in the turtles favor is we’re in a rural neighborhood next to a marsh so traffic is only for residents, I’m rooting for them

[@Thanny2000]

Where is the van? Can we get an update on it

[@devincrawford5076]

Great video ! Thanks for the interesting content.

[@m005kennedy]

Excellent video!

[@LBurnsy]

Love you guys 👨‍🌾💕👩🏼‍🌾

[@oregonk91]

Very cool! Thanks so much!

[@ivan_prime]

Aww, cute.

[@mariodelmonte5973]

thank you

[@Don-lf9ku]

I had a turtle come in lay eggs in my yard about 70 days ago. I put a milk crate over it with weights on it so that no predators could get the eggs but the turtles could still get out when they hatched. I can't tell whether or not they ever hatched. I don't see any difference. I would expect to see shell debris or something. How do I know that they hatched. This is the 2nd time this has happened. I never saw any sign that they hatched last time either. I wanted to make sure that they made it to the water because there's been construction. it's and it's a much more arduous journey then before. Does anybody have any tips as to what I should do and/or look for.

[@xitro20xx]

In Belgium all turtles are invasive species. So this seemed a bit off for me. But still great work :)

[@BackToReality]

I did not know that! I can understand why this would seem a bit off from your perspective then! lol

[@RaysHobbies]

Wow really?

[@billlyoliveman]

@@BackToReality I suspect (but obvs don't know for sure) that the situation in Belgium is the same as in the U.K. Back along, particularly during the 'Ninja turtles' craze, many people bought terrapins and the like for pets, not realising how long they live and how big they can get. Sadly many were then released into the wild where the native flora and fauna have no defence against them. They've becoming responsible for decimating pond and stream populations. Education, as always, is key! Great video btw!

[@maya_zendoodles]

I was considering helping out a nest on our property, but your info about the endangered species changed my mind. The nest is of a painted turtle, which is not endangered at all where I live. So I decided against helping and just letting nature take its course. (plus there are fox kits near us that need to learn to forage for themselves so I wouldn’t want to deprive them of a good meal)

[@flaviuss8creteanu648]

Nice job

[@LyfeInMacro]

Did any more of the eggs hatch after this guy??

[@Lannie1948]

Great video!

[@ouchenneassaad4328]

I don't know why u dont have many views

[@cescocesco1973]

Well done!

[@thomasangermeier8822]

You guys are so "zuckersüß", well done!

[@David-hh7nx]

well done

[@colemankamryn]

Post on inaturalist

[@Badgeweefixstuff]

Very interesting thanks 🙏👍👍👍👍🇨🇦🛠

[@kiks12]

did you find anymore turtles?

[@distortedinfo]

Did anymore hatch?

[@kimbrady7478]

Good Job ty

[@betts258]

wow! so interesting, merci!!

[@tasneembashir2733]

Your video is amazing lol

[@SC-fk9nc]

Good people!

[@denisestone8491]

💗beautiful

[@debiheeb-koller1239]

You are great stewards

[@zizuza1]

"I like turtles!!" -zombie kid

[@kagoambingbharat9209]

Love u both

[@bennet761]

you should grow your own tomatost

[@BackToReality]

I hadn't heard of tomatoast before, so I just looked it up. I don't think we have it here.

[@electronicfreak1111]

Just make sure not to put them in the water just put it near it (it can make them think they are not adults)

[@johnnygag1]

Really all 8 species are at risk. North Bay Ontario asking.

[@forr2414]

I am all for keeping an eye out for them and making sure they didn't get eaten but to carry it to the water thats a no no, they need to develop and strengthen their skills cool video though.

[@BackToReality]

Hey fo rr, I totally agree. We woudln't have touched Sandy at all if it wasn't for the fact that the sun was setting and we ALWAYS have raccoons traveling through that area after dark. We felt that the brief interaction with us was better than the near-certain interaction with them.

[@middleway1885]

Just thinking of the constant change in the environment and tracking all that data... lol who needs a quantum computer with ai... lol

[@umaryusuf537]

You were actually incorrect on 1 percent hatching and surviving. I breed turtles and tortoise all could hatch but yet again all could die. While leaving the nest.

[@NaNa-j7b2q]

It breaks my heart to hear just how selfish and nasty man really is all of these animals have to struggle from the beginning of Life humans have no idea how easy we have it I do the same thing as you guys and it's good to see that there's good people so out there that do care about the environment and the animals in it and how important each and every animal role in their life is we could not live without animals they do so much work for us people need to stop being on that damn phones all the time and start going out and spending time with nature saving what we can instead of thinking about bringing back the mammoth😂

[@vdwhite687]

#teamtrees

[@giansotolongo8037]

I'm gona be in Hamilton Ontario oct25

[@BackToReality]

Oh, awesome. What brings you to Ontario? We're about 4 or 5 hours from there, but do travel through the area from time to time.

[@giansotolongo8037]

Back To Reality I'm going to visit my uncle it's also my birth day I want to go to a nature trail the place looks awsome

[@jeffmardling]

Happy birthday Gian...that’s my birthday as well :)

[@BackToReality]

Well happy birthday to you both! :)

[@giansotolongo8037]

Jeff Mardling haha that's awesome happy birth day

[@minihaha3940]

Wear gloves with turtles. My husband died from sea turtle disease. He always wore beach shoe's and never went in the ocean but we did walk by a blocked of area that had baby turtles