General Care Discussion :: Ach! Egg laying season--again! But it's too cold out...

[kikicool]

Hi, all. Well, I'm back. Some of you may remember that Lilly laid eggs in the fall. I had to take her to a friend's house, one who has a yard. She did great!

Here's the problem. She's been trying to escape her tank again, which was the way I knew last time she was gravid. But I can't bring her outside in NY. It's still too cold, isn't it? It's in the 50s here.

So I took a deep box of rich, loamy soil inside but she's having NONE of it. SUGGESTIONS?!?! thanks!

[Lantic]

Try warming the soil. And it might take awhile for her to get used to it.

[kikicool]

Okay, will do... I need to build a better ramp in and out, too, I think. Any other suggestions?

[Lantic]

Do you have lights for it? and how big is it?

[kikicool]

I don't have lights on it. I put it in the shower stall down here on the first floor. The bathroom itself is bright. Should I add a heat lamp to the box? I thought perhaps it would freak her out to have a spotlight on her, she may prefer quiet and privacy.

The box is square, and larger than she is--but not by much. It was the biggest box I could find that is deep enough! Is this too small? she can turn around in it okay and everything...

[marisa]

You could try the heat lamp and see if it helps (or doesn't).

A bit bigger probably would have been better, but you go with what you've got. How deep is it?

[kikicool]

Well, I got a bigger box--not much bigger, but longer. It's about 8 inches deep. Is this okay? For the night, I put it on a heating vent with the heat lamp on it. Because, of course, did I mention it drizzled today? So the soil was moist. Not wet, but moist. Trying to dry it out overnight. *sigh* Which means I will be getting up throughout the evening to till the soil. Ha!! The things we do for turts! I'll definitely keep you all posted on her progress. Last time she had a clutch of six.

[VanishingReality]

I'm not sure if this would work but you could try laying down some plastic in the bathtub then placing dirt/sand over it. You will probably be able to make it bigger then the box. That probably would require a lot of dirt though...

[steve]

As soon as she is showing signs, put her in the box. I've had no luck with a nesting box, it just seemed to stress her out.

[kimberly183]

Kiki - Did you see my post in Urgent Care? My female fell 4 feet last week, getting out of the tank. She finally laid on Monday night.

Thought this might help you as it's also too cold outside here, too - this is from my post:

"The final nesting solution: Large Rubbermaid tote, 4 inches of sand, 3 inches of soil, 3 inches of lightly mixed soil/sand, two bags of Aspen snake bedding by ZooMed, one package of Zoomed Forest Floor, and about 2 dozen dried maple leaves. We also had her basking light on her. She had stopped and started a few times over the last few days, but this combination was finally right. And she wanted to be left entirely alone. If I was in the room, she played peek-a-boo with me. She really just wanted quiet. "

And Pam was right - it takes HOURS for her to dig. I seriously left her alone, with occasional peeks, for 7 hours.

[mr.turtle]

hi. i am losing whatever is left of my mind. did i mention that i would whole-heartedly recommend if you are purchasing a turtle to try to get a male? OMG!! this egg stuff is driving me crazy. i have a psycho turtle inside and outside there are two abandoned cats in heat. as there are no males around (that can service them, that is), they have been in constant heat for months....so inside i have chaos and outside chaos. these days, i live the majority of my time in the space between the storm door and the front door. it is the only place where there are not psycho females!!!!!! HELP!!!!! the former mr. turtle who now is "frantic frieda" is driving me completely insane. up down up down the ramp, disconnecting everything....it is reminiscent of charles manson and helter skelter. this went on for three weeks about two weeks ago. i constructed inside nesting areas (lovely when it is raining and you are cooking dirt at 500 degrees and then find out that your cat must have gotten into the potting soil bag and your new carpeting isn't cute anymore cause you are a bit frantic yourself and your college professor just looks at you when you tell him you missed your midterm because you were so worried over your aquatic turtle and he is from russia and knows true strife and to him, this doesn't cut it!!! well, next time around, we might just be living outdoors and then probably all will be well with frantic frieda.!!! anyhow, she wouldn't go for the inside nest, then i tried an outside one and then i came home from school one night and there were ten eggs sitting there.....she made sure i saw them and then she just literally went psycho again and destroyed them. i kept repeating over and over and over again "i understand"....and wondered (secretly) about my own mental health at the moment and took a break to go outside to visit the anxious unfulfilled female cats for a bit. the water became cloudy and rancid. water change. next day, cloudy and rancid. water change. next day....i think you get the picture....not sure if she was leaking "egg juice" or what, but the tank was a mess!!!!! then peace and quiet....now, she is all crazy again!!!! i wasn't expecting this for another year or more or never (i had hoped!!). i can't stand being inside with her and i live in a studio!!!!! the second she senses i am present, she goes nuts!!! if i don't give her attention, then she will hoist herself up and try to escape. i tried covering the tank with a light sheet to give her privacy and help her relax, but she just hoisted herself up and ripped it down. wow! she is feisty and mean. the other turtle (little turtle) is a mess because big turtle is being mean to her and driving her crazy as well. between the egg laying and this, she did nothing but eat the calcium bones and bask. bottom line: short of making "turtle soup" what the heck do i do? she wants something (turtle valium?) and i want something as well ....peace!! right now i can't stand her and i hate that but this has gotta end soon.....five weeks of this and anyone would be loony tunes, i think. if i could, i would take her and have her get a hysterectomy. not kidding! i hope there is a solution. we can't go on like this.

[steve]

How long has she been like this? My immediate concern would be for the little turtle.

[mr.turtle]

hi steve. i was actually trying to respond to you a while back and i heard this noise and low and behold,,,,,mr. turtle had climbed out of the tank! i freaked out....and put her on the floor and she just scurried over to the door...we went outside and she let me take her down the steps, she found a place and then....fell asleep for 7 hrs.....great...no eggs. she had a clutch (is that the right term?) about a month ago....ten eggs...she showed me them, then destroyed them. all i said was "i understand"....i thought "good...its over with...." not so. she has been crazy again for three weeks now. when i take her outside,m she sleeps...she is trying to get out like crazy and being very unsafe and desperate! i can't stand to be home....i can't concentrate because she won't let me sleep, she is psycho. poor baby turtle just tries her best to help. your concern i am sure is valid, but it doesn't seem so with these two. she lets baby turtle do whatever she wants....this includes ripping food right out of her mouth. i thought when i saw it first that that would be the end (i try to feed mr. turtle first) or i feed them on separate sides of the tank because i realize that they are territorial, but...mr. turtle climbs up the turtle topper, then down, eaten up, then down...then up....she disconnects everything and she can't be still. the worst thing is when she gets into the basking area and scratches her back legs on the plastic and it sounds like she has been buried alive. i can't take it! i want my old turtle back!!! i was thinking maybe there is one or two eggs left inside? she had 10 and they were huge. she is eating,,,,and gobbling up the calcium bones like crazy. she ate two in nothing flat. i need to get more now...anyhow i miss my old turtle and i want to help her along. i am dirt poor and all my $ goes to my animals now as it is. i posted a basking picture by the way....anyhow, thanks for your response and i will check back. i am taking her outside again now. my finals are suffering, but so is my turtle.... : )

[mr.turtle]

oops!! i forgot to add that i tried the dirt in the bathtub idea, and a dual tank with both water and dirt....i am so glad i live alone because it is like animal kingdom in here. thank goodness for vodka!

[steve]

Clutch is correct. Is she acting up at certain times? Only an X-ray can determine how many eggs she's actually carrying. What was her reaction to being in the bathtub?