Sand that is scooped out of the cavity is spread to the side of the hole. If a turtle is missing a large portion of one or both of her rear flippers, her egg chamber may be relatively shallow. The shape of most egg chambers beneath the sand resembles an inverted light bulb. When the egg chamber has been completed, the turtle will start depositing her eggs. Once a turtle has begun to lay her eggs, she becomes almost oblivious to any disturbance around her.
Most loggerhead turtles spread their rear flippers beside their nest during deposition.
The turtles will position their cloaca over the hole and begin dropping eggs, two and three at a time, into the chamber. Once egg laying has commenced, the turtle will often slightly curl their rear flippers as eggs are deposited. This action is an indicator that the turtle has begun to lay her eggs and can be approached by researchers without disturbing her. Some green turtles have also been observed to cover the exposed egg chamber with one of their rear flippers. With shallow egg chambers, some eggs may spill out on either side of the chamber.