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Hey everyone -

So I am a little worried about Tucker. Lately she has not been eating well at all. Normally she devours her lettuce and her reptomin pellets, but lately she's been leaving it alone and hardly taking any in. She's also been basking excessively long....like all day. Her basking area has clear walls so normally when someone would come into the room, she'd jump into the water. I was getting a bit worried that she might be needing to lay eggs because she's been climbing a lot, trying to get out of the back of the tank while sometimes knocking off the bit of screen I have there. I made a nesting area in the basement in a secondary tank someone gave me. I've put ground coconut fibers mixed with sand in the tank. All she does though is walk around and then start to bury herself. I get worried she's trying to hibernate! Tonight I've put some space heaters around the tank along with a MVB and a normal heat lamp. I'm recording her now and I will post a video to youtube so you guys can see.

Has anyone else experienced a turtle trying to bury themselves? I wonder if this extraordinarily bad winter is affecting her, even though the temps in the tank are regulated. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello! How big is she? It she still a a baby? If not, could it be that she's trying to lay eggs?

She might be too cold or hot if she wants to bury herself. She wouldn't do that is she was nesting. Whats the water temperature? Have you felt for eggs?

The water is 76-77 degrees. Her basking light is a MVB that sits 11 inches above the bottom of the basking area. I have tried to feel for eggs, but I don't really know what I'm supposed to be feeling for, and haven't felt any resistance. Maybe I'm being too gentle. My video is uploading so hopefully sometime tonight I'll have it up and running for you guys to see.

So before dinner tonight, I noticed Tucker still in her ATBA laying there with everything stretched out, head and extremities included....eyes were closed and I thought she was dead. I touched her and she woke up. What makes this even more strange is that her light was off for awhile. Anyway, I've got her back down in her nesting area again and she's buried again.....I posted a video which should be up soon at: http://youtu.be/dYmCQbXFC8Y

I do have a call into a local vet to see if they treat turtles. Still waiting to hear back.

In the meantime, here are some pictures:

The white lines are probably just mineral/calcium from being dry as you mentioned. The shells to have some sort of bacterial infection. From what I've seen, these usually go away after the next shed or two. From the video, it doesn't seem like she wants to lay any eggs. Have you tried her favorite treats?

Just an update....Tucker seems to be back to normal. She is still basking quite a bit, but she is eating better and moving around more. I can't wait for it to get warmer so she can go outside and get some real sun! Thanks for the help!

No problem, glad all is going well.