Urgent Care :: My turtle laid 11 Giant Eggs!

[taylormaid]

How big is your turtle? 6-7"
How long have you had it? 3 1/2yrs

What is the water temperature? approx 74 degrees
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 75gal. tank, filled half full
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? XP3

What is the basking temperature? not sure, turtle currently basking, don't want to disturb her
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? plasticIs there a UVB light? yes
What have you been trying to feed it? leaf lettuce, Reptomin sticks
When was the last time your turtle ate? lettuce this morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 75 galIs the tank near a window? yesIs the tank in a room with a lot of activity? some
Have you read the Basic Care section? yesHave you searched the forums for similar situations? yes
Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?no

I have two RES: a female & a male. I went out this evening, and when I came back 4hrs later my female had laid 11 eggs that are each about the size of a cherry tomato & 4 eggs about the size of peanut M&M's. She laid the eggs in the water. I do have a nesting site for her to use in the summer when the weather is warm enough to put the turtles outside, but don't have a site that is able to be attached to the tank. I have read the article on Tortoise Trust re: nesting, but have additional questions. (This is the first time she has laid eggs) If anyone has experience or advice I would greatly appreciate the info.

1) Tortoise trust claims that some turtles will lay most of their eggs & retain a few, but 15 eggs seem like a lot! What is the normal number? Should I take her out of the tank & make something for her to nest in?

2) I realize that turtles lay eggs multiple times a year. Now that she has started, is it easy to predict when she will lay? (ie: every 3months, etc.) Or will I just have to continue observing her behavior?

3) How long before they are ready to lay eggs will they display nesting behavior? And how obvious is it? I work 3rd shift -when I come home in the morning, she will claw at the tank, but I assumed it was because she wanted the lettuce I feed in the morning. By the afternoon/evening she is calm & basking all of the time.

Again, any advice would be appreciated =)

[steve]

1) 15 is a lot but not unusual, although that does seem a lot for a 6" RES. Did she exhibit nesting behavior before? Is she still exhibiting any of this behavior?

2) I do not think it's easy to predict when indoor captive RES will want to lay eggs.

3) My RES exhibited a lot of frantic swimming (trying real hard to get out of the tank) and had a lack of interest in eating. They can also exhibit a kicking motion with their back legs.

[taylormaid]

A month or so ago she was franticly trying to get out of the tank -it lasted for about 30min & was then finished -I tried to keep an eye on her, but she didn't freak out like that again. Since she quit after such a short time, I assumed she wasn't displaying nesting behavior. Was I wrong? I thought that if it was nesting behavior, it would have continued throughout the day or longer.
I work & go to school full time & am unfortunately not home very much. When I do see her, though she is almost always basking.
She is *always* interested in eating. In fact, my male broke some of the eggs open & began to eat them, and she is also munching on the small bits of shell that I couldn't get out of the tank.

When I came home tonight & discovered the eggs, she was basking w/her back end in the water. Right now she is freaking out a little because I had to reach in to take the eggs out. I did set up a plastic container w/wet sand (don't have any compost) & put a basking light on it. I am waiting for it to get a little warmer & I will put her in it for a few hours. Hopefully this will encourage her if she is still retaining any eggs? Any other ideas?
Thanks for the info =)

[taylormaid]

Another question -do you have a nesting site that is attached to your tank, or seperate from it?
If your site is seperate, how long does your RES occupy the nesting area before laying eggs? I know every turtle is different, but I wonder if I should expect the turtle to lay eggs w/in a day, week or whatever?

[industrial_girl_2000]

Another question -do you have a nesting site that is attached to your tank, or seperate from it?
If your site is seperate, how long does your RES occupy the nesting area before laying eggs? I know every turtle is different, but I wonder if I should expect the turtle to lay eggs w/in a day, week or whatever?

Well, it depends on how picky they are about the "nesting site." Some turtles will walk around and around for hours before finding a suitable nesting site, so this is hard to do in captivity (but not impossible....you just have to patiently keep trying). Provide her a warm sandbox & leave her in there a while & see what happens.

When my turtle was gravid, she always wanted to lay her eggs in the busiest area of my living room where people were constantly walking back and forth....! So their choice of laying area may not make sense to us and it is a trial & error sort of thing.

Unfortunately I don't have any experience with making a good nesting site so I can't help you there. My turtle always seemed to eventually always head for the bean bag & lay them under there (I don't recommend that you do this for your turtle since it is obviously not the right way to do this).

Good luck!

[taylormaid]

Man, I went through all the trouble of making her an impromptu sandbox w/basking light & everything -never knew I could just let her roam =)

This morning she was trying to escape her tank, so I put her in the sandbox -but so far she is trying to escape that as well. If she doesn't calm down, I will just let her wander in the bathroom. I know you don't recommend it -but if it works, it works! Thanks for the advice =)

[SpotsMama]

If the bathroom has a tile floor, you might need to provide something at least soft for her. Perhaps put towels on the floor that she can dig around in.

[taylormaid]

Ok -thanks =)

[industrial_girl_2000]

Man, I went through all the trouble of making her an impromptu sandbox w/basking light & everything -never knew I could just let her roam =)

This morning she was trying to escape her tank, so I put her in the sandbox -but so far she is trying to escape that as well. If she doesn't calm down, I will just let her wander in the bathroom. I know you don't recommend it -but if it works, it works! Thanks for the advice =)

Well, the sandbox is the best way to try to get her to lay the eggs.

At the time when my turtle was gravid, there was NO information out there on how to encourage her to lay eggs (and the vets didn't know anything either), so I just let her out in my living room & she would dig and dig and dig into the carpet with her hindlegs. I always felt so sorry for her since she would just strain and strain.

[marisa]

She laid quite a few eggs for her size.

[ploskinj]

Hi taylormaid,

what happened to your turtle now? did she lay more eggs? how did she do it?

I think my turtle is ready to lay eggs too. Like your turtle, she's trying to escape the tank and the nesting place... i 'd appreciate it if you can give me some tips.

thanks!