Baby Sea Turtles

Baby Sea Turtles Life Cycle

Baby sea turtles are the result of millions of years of mating and nesting rituals.  When ready to lay baby sea turtles eggs, the female will make her way to the beach where she was hatched and create a nest in which she can lay the eggs for the future baby sea turtles.  She will use her hind flippers to dig a hole that is 40 to 50 centimeters deep.  When the hole is to the female's satisfaction, the female will fill the nest with a clutch of eggs that will soon hatch into baby sea turtles. 

A female will deposit the eggs of 150 to 200 baby sea turtles, depending on the species of the female.  The nest will then be refilled with the loose sand until it is not detectable by predators, and then the female makes her way back to the ocean where the baby sea turtles will make their way when they hatch. 

Baby Sea Turtles Reproduction

Not all of the eggs of the baby sea turtles are fertilized, so some will hatch and some will not.  The incubation of baby sea turtles takes about eight weeks, though the incubation of the baby sea turtles varies slightly from species to species as well as on the temperature of the sand in which they have been left in.  If baby sea turtles are nested in darker sand they will likely hatch sooner as the darker sands have higher temperatures. 

Baby Sea Turtles Journey

When the baby sea turtles hatch, the baby sea turtles will tear out of their shells with their snout and then instinct will lead to the baby sea turtles towards the sea.  Unfortunately, a very small percentage of baby sea turtles will actually make it to the sea alive and those baby sea turtles that do make it are still at great risk. 

Only about .001% of the baby sea turtles that hatch will be successful in making it to the water alive as there are many predators that watch for the hatching of the baby sea turtles.  There are often baby sea turtles hatching in large numbers, so the predators will literally stand around and wait to eat up baby sea turtles as they emerge from the sand. 

Baby Sea Turtles Life Span

Baby sea turtles spend as long as the first five years of their life in beds of unattached seaweed, which gives baby sea turtles plenty of shelter as well as food.  In fact, there are some species of baby sea turtles that spend most of their lives in these beds of seaweed that float in the middle of the ocean.

Baby Sea Turtles Diet

Baby sea turtles often feed on zooplankton and nekton before they begin to feed on sea grass.  One thing that helps the baby sea turtles survive once they make their way out into the open waters is the hard shell of baby sea turtles and their instinctive ability to find beds of seaweed.