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1 <br />HOW TO PREVENT NEST PREDATION cont. <br />ONests can also be covered temporarily with plywood to provide short-term protection. The plywood trust be <br />removed within five days or the shading of the nest will cool the soil and prevent proper development of the <br />eggs. <br />()Masking the odor of the nest may prevent predators from fmding it. You can try sprinkling the area with water, <br />or putting a 1 in. layer of fresh sand over the nest location in an attempt to disguise the turtle smell. <br />HOW TO TELL IF TURTLES HAVE HATCHED <br />Egg shell fragments scattered near an unearthed nest indicate that the nest has been destroyed by predators. When <br />eggs hatch successfully, the eggshells are left underground in the nest cavity. Successful eggs typically hatch <br />between mid - August and early October, depending on when the eggs were laid and how warm the summer has <br />been (turtle eggs are incubated by the heat of the sun). The hatchlings emerge through a small burrow they dig <br />from the nest to the surface. If you cannot find the hole or burrow the hatchlings used to exit the nest, it could <br />mean that the eggs failed to hatch. However, some turtles may hatch from the egg and then spend the winter in <br />the nest, and not emerge until the following spring. This means that even if you do not see young turtles emerge <br />from the nest in the fall, the nest still may have been successful. <br />If you would like to share the story of your nest protection efforts with us, please send details (and photos, if <br />possible) to "Attn: MCBS Herpetologist" at ecoservices @dnr.state.mn.us or Minnesota County Biological <br />Survey, 500 Lafayette Rd., Box 25, St. Paul, MN 55155; or contact the DNR Nongame Specialist nearest you: <br />Bemidji (218- 755- 2976); Brainerd (218- 828 - 2228); New Ulm (507- 359- 6033); Rochester (507- 280 - 5070); or St. <br />Paul (651- 259 - 5110). <br />Compiled by the :Minnesota Apartment of Natural Resources ,Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program, .December 2001 <br />Endangered Species Environmental Review Coordinator, 500 Lafayette Rd, Box 25, St. Paul, MAI 55155 / 651-259-5107 <br />