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Meet the Heavyweights: Our Breeding Pond Giants

First up, let’s talk about the Breeding Pond—a true turtle paradise! Right now, there are 282 Green turtles happily paddling around, with 226 ladies and 56 gentlemen making up this peaceful community. On average, these majestic creatures tip the scales at a hefty 313 lbs. But one turtle stands out from the crowd—meet Sparky, our reigning heavyweight champion. Sparky is the heaviest turtle in the Breeding Pond, weighing an impressive 510 lbs. She’s a mysterious gal whose age remains one of the ocean’s best-kept secrets!

While Sparky might be the biggest, our oldest known breeder turtle is a wise 46 years old, sharing the pond with others of undetermined age. On the younger side, the newest member of the breeding crew is a sprightly 17 years old. It’s incredible to see the range of ages and sizes that make up our breeding population!

Little Hatchlings, Big Beginnings: Inside the Hatchery

Now, let’s journey to where the magic happens—the CTC Turtle Hatchery. Ever wondered how we go from eggs on the beach to tiny turtle hatchlings? Park veterinarian Dr. Navi Baboolal is here to shed some light on the process.

Each night, our dedicated Turtle Husbandry Night Watch staff carefully collects eggs from the beach, where our mother turtles have laid their nests. These precious eggs are then transported to the Hatchery, where they’re sorted into Styrofoam incubation boxes, draped with a fine cloth, and covered up with sand to keep them moist. A single nest may be split across several boxes, each holding around 50 eggs. With as many as 30,000 – 40,000 eggs collected in a nesting season, our Hatchery is always bustling!

The eggs spend about 60 days in these cozy incubation boxes, where our team keeps a close eye on moisture levels, adding water as needed. When the time is right, and the eggs start to hatch, we remove the cloths, allowing the tiny hatchlings to make their grand entrance into the world by crawling through the sand.

Once the hatching is complete, the remaining eggs are carefully opened and examined—a process we call ‘staging.’ We record whether each egg was developed, undeveloped, or had any unique developments, helping us track patterns throughout the season. The new hatchlings are then monitored in wet trays before moving into hatchling tanks, where they’ll continue to grow and thrive.

Display Tank Celebrities: From Oldies to Youngsters

But that’s not all! Our Display Tanks are also home to some of the stars of our turtle community. The oldest turtles in these tanks are a respectable 17 years old, living right next to the Crocodile exhibit. Meanwhile, the youngest residents are the adorable Touch Tank turtles, who are just about a year old.

It’s incredible to witness the full life cycle of these turtles, from eggs to hatchlings, and finally to mature breeders who might one day lay their own eggs on the beach.

The Future Looks Bright

With 252 nests and a whopping 20,098 eggs laid just in the second quarter of the year, the future looks bright for our turtle family. Every hatchling that makes its way from the sand to the sea is a step forward in conservation and a testament to the care and dedication of our team.

So, the next time you visit us, remember there’s a whole world of activity happening behind the scenes—from the hefty breeders like Sparky to the tiniest hatchlings making their way into the world. We’re thrilled to share these updates with you and can’t wait to see what the future holds for our shelled friends!

Until next time, keep swimming by for more turtle tales and updates from the heart of our Hatchery and the CTC.