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Female red-eared slider with eggs

PostPosted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:11 pm
by CheckeredTurtle
Turtle information
Female (approximately 6 years old)
8.5 inches long

Water temp: depends on time of day (in outdoor kiddie pool) but above room temp. during day. She stays indoors at night.
No thermometer
No heater (the sun keeps it warm)
Over 100 gallons, I'd say.
No water conditioner
No filtration I clean 1-2 times a week and drain.

Basking temp.: use sunlight
We use bricks, she can get up there pretty well.

I usually feed her a mixture of food pellets and deli meat, fruit if she's up for it as well. She doesn't like veggies.
She ate last night. She won't eat now, but keeps trying to get out of her feeding tank.

Tank is circular kiddie pool 6ft diamter, depth around 6 inches.
There isn't much activity around her.

I've looked for similar situations and found some advice, but I need to ask more specific questions.

So I recently switched Melvina to a kiddie pool that was large enough for her, as she well outgrew her past tank. However, I noticed that she kept trying to climb out. I attributed this to her normal behavior (she's always trying to get out, although this could have been due to her tank being too small for her). Over the past two weeks I've been attending school and other activities all day, so I let me parents move her outdoors in the morning and keep an eye on her during the day, while took her inside to eat in the evening and clean her tank when necessary.

Over the past few days she began to bask more and try to get out of her tank. She managed to escape a few times, but since her pool is on a wooden deck she didn't get far. However, this evening when I returned home I found a bunch of broken white egg shells scattered in the pool, with odd white-yellow material floating in there. I'm not sure how many eggs she laid, but she laid them over the course of the day.

She's had problems with shell rot before once she was moved outside, but I don't believe she has serious health issues. This is her first time laying eggs.

Questions: How many eggs would a female of this size typically lay?

What size of a nesting box should she have? How deep should the soil be? Is potting soil okay?

In case she rejects the nesting box, I was hoping that she could find a spot in the yard. However, the soil in my yard is clay-like and hard to dig in. How soft does the soil have to be for her to be able to dig in? Are there any other options if neither of these works?

How do I tell if she becomes eggbound?

If she does become eggbound, how much would a visit to a vet (including X-ray and oxytocin treatment) cost? I don't have a lot of money to spend on pets, but I would get treatment for her if it came to that. But I need to know how expensive it can get.

How long should I keep her in a nesting area? Will she only lay eggs during the daytime? Right now she's in her feeding tank for the night, but she is refusing to eat and keeps trying to climb out. Is there a particular time when I can expect eggs? Over how long a period will she probably be laying eggs?

How often would she most likely lay eggs per year? Is there a particular season when I can expect her to lay eggs?

Thank you for any help. This is my first time dealing with this and I want to make sure I can give her the right treatment.

Re: Female red-eared slider with eggs

PostPosted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:52 am
by steve
Here is some information re:nesting: http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html

I don't think there is a definitive answer to your first question, especially since she is alone.

The success of nesting box varies, though nearly most of them don't work out. It should be at least as tall as she is long (including rear feet stretched out). A backyard or garden would work better if you can get access to one. Put her in the box as soon as she is exhibiting signs (usually desperately trying to get out of the tank). This might occur for a several minutes a day... check to see if it's the same time each day and anticipate it. As soon as she is not showing the behavior, you can take her out.

As for when she wants to lay them... since our turtles are captive, it's possible they can lay anytime of the year. My girl wanted to lay them around Christmas last time she was gravid.

Veterinary prices can vary greatly, so you might want to research some of your local vets.

Re: Female red-eared slider with eggs

PostPosted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 11:28 pm
by CheckeredTurtle
Thanks for the advice!

Since she laid around two eggs in her tank, she laid around 4 more in her feeding tank the next morning. I fenced off part of the garden for her and she dug around a lot but didn't lay anymore. Today, however, I put in a crate for her to provide some shade, and while in there she laid another egg. I'm not sure if she dug a whole for it first, and it was above ground.

Does this mean she's done with this clutch?

The egg looked a little different from the others in that one end was kind of folded inward, making a crease. The egg shell was white, and a little stiff compared to the ones in the water. Was that because it dried out or was the egg abnormal? Her appetite's good, but I'm a little worried that she might have had problems laying this egg. I didn't notice any blood. I'll keep an eye on her to see if she continues digging behavior.

Re: Female red-eared slider with eggs

PostPosted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 12:16 am
by steve
It's impossible to tell how many she might have. It sounds like the egg might have been retained, but it's good news that she laid it.

Re: Female red-eared slider with eggs

PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:05 pm
by bigG
My female RES has been digging her nests in the backyard and this was the first year that she actually laid some eggs in the nest. Previously, she would dig several nests but "laid" her eggs in the tank.

Re: Female red-eared slider with eggs

PostPosted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 11:53 pm
by CheckeredTurtle
Just to let you know how it worked out:

She laid one more egg in her feeding tank and laid one in the garden. She's doing fine now, no sign of retaining her eggs, although I was a bit worried since her last egg seemed a little harder than the rest.