Circle of Life

My turtles laid eggs again, this is the second time in the last 8 months. The first time I was so freaked out, because I didn't expect it and I have never seen anything like that before. I've had them for almost 6 years now and from what I've read they can lay up to 22 eggs at a time. The craziest thing is that the eggs can come from either the female or the male. Last week I noticed one egg, and then there were 6 more.

I'm not upset that it happened, I just feel bad because all the eggs crack as soon as they lay them. They are supposed to lay their eggs in dirt or sand, and bury them, but since they are in a 20 gallon tank, there is no other place for them to lay the eggs. I created an area for them, not shown in the picture above, for them to drop the eggs in. There is sand and little tiny pebbles, but water still gets in the bowl so the eggs still crack.

By the time I remove them from the water, they're all cracked and the yolk, ugh, is floating around and my female turtle (Peachy) eats it. The reason why I know she is the female is because she is so feisty, she doesn't allow the male turtle to eat sometimes. She takes everything from him, and she is constantly snapping at him. Sorry, ladies. Not only that, but she is almost twice his size, and he is always mounting on top of her. LOL.

I had 5 turtles, but 3 died, and she was the one who killed them. She's an evil bitch, but she is a survivor and I love her. See the photos of the eggs below: