General Care Discussion :: Turtle nest and laying eggs

[Spookster]

This is a spin off of the turtle temper thread we had earlier.

Now that we are fairly sure our female RES is trying to escape her tank to go lay eggs we have been taking her outside in hopes that she will lay eggs. So far she hasn't. We tried creating a small 2x2 foot enclosure with sand/dirt and she wanted nothing to do with that. We've tried just letting her run loose in the back yard in hopes she will go pick a spot and start digging. She either just runs under the bushes and will stay there all day and make no attempt at digging a hole or run to the neighbors yards.

We've made one more attempt at a nesting area. This time I made it much larger and dug up the first 6 inches or so of dirt and mixed in some sand from the beach and made sure it was all slightly moist so it is soft to dig in. I removed as many sticks and stones in the dirt as I could. I created a shaded area for her to sit under and buried a small plastic tub of water so she won't get dehydrated. I put some plastic netting over the top to help prevent esacpe attempts and prevent potential predators from getting in. The fencing is quite sturdy so unless she digs an escape tunnel under the wall or the house she shouldn't be able to get out.

Here are some photos
http://www.designqueue.com/gallery/thum ... p?album=14

What do you think? Any suggestions on improving it or things we could do to make it more acceptable to her so she will lay her eggs? How long should we leave her in there each day until she lays them? Also will she bury herself while she lays them?

[Spookster]

Left her in there most of the day and she still isn't making any attempt at digging holes for laying. She submerged herself in the tub of water and hid for a few hours until I lowered the level of the water. After that she just sat under the covered area and did nothing. As determined as she is to get out of her tank I would think she'd be ready to lay some eggs right away but as soon as we put her outside she calms down and does nothing. This turtle is driving me nuts.

[TNTurtles]

have you tried taking her to a vet to see if it is egg laying thats bothering her? Course im just learning about turtles....i'm sure it just takes a lot of time and patience for your turtle.

[steve]

Well, I think I was very lucky earlier. The only thing I can think of, was that the soil was fairly damp when she made the nest. We had about 2-3 days of rain and the dirt would normally be hard but was it soft. She did have a large area to look around and was not put into the corner... if you put her in the middle of your backyard, would she search for an area? Have you tried feeling for the eggs or maybe an xray will give you peace of mind

[Pam]

Beautiful nest area. I hope she lays those eggs if she needs to! Is she still acting very restless? Has she been eating? Does she have any other unusual behavior? Sometimes mine will quit eating as well as being very restless which I know is a sure sign as they are generally little pigs!

Sometimes my turtles would act as if they wanted to lay eggs and then it would be quite awhile before they actually would - maybe a week or two - but would be restless off and on. I would leave them out there most of the day and it seemed they often would wait until evening to start digging a nest - which I did not like as I did not want them out in the dark so we had to set up lighting to keep predators away. I would also check to see if you can feel any eggs if you can get your finger to feel up above her back legs (gently). I have often been able to feel the eggs so I know they need to lay them. I have a female now though that has been acting restless off and on for awhile now but still no eggs. I know they can be particular about where to lay them but it looks as if you built her a great nesting area. Maybe she just needs to get used to it. Keep us posted!

[Spookster]

Well, I think I was very lucky earlier. The only thing I can think of, was that the soil was fairly damp when she made the nest. We had about 2-3 days of rain and the dirt would normally be hard but was it soft. She did have a large area to look around and was not put into the corner... if you put her in the middle of your backyard, would she search for an area? Have you tried feeling for the eggs or maybe an xray will give you peace of mind

She doesn't appear to search when we do that. She either just hides under a bush or tries to take off through the neighborhood. I've looked in front of her back legs when she has her legs extended but it looks completely hollow. The loose skin just sinks all the way in.

[Spookster]

Beautiful nest area. I hope she lays those eggs if she needs to! Is she still acting very restless? Has she been eating? Does she have any other unusual behavior? Sometimes mine will quit eating as well as being very restless which I know is a sure sign as they are generally little pigs!

Sometimes my turtles would act as if they wanted to lay eggs and then it would be quite awhile before they actually would - maybe a week or two - but would be restless off and on. I would leave them out there most of the day and it seemed they often would wait until evening to start digging a nest - which I did not like as I did not want them out in the dark so we had to set up lighting to keep predators away. I would also check to see if you can feel any eggs if you can get your finger to feel up above her back legs (gently). I have often been able to feel the eggs so I know they need to lay them. I have a female now though that has been acting restless off and on for awhile now but still no eggs. I know they can be particular about where to lay them but it looks as if you built her a great nesting area. Maybe she just needs to get used to it. Keep us posted!

Thank you. She has acted restless like this a few times now. She swims wildly back and forth across the tank and up and down to the bottom and the top. She also tried desperately to climb out a few times using the filter intake and output.

I guess we will just keep putting her out there and hope she will get over her stubborness and stop being picky.

[Spookster]

Well today she dug a hole big enough for her to sit in and she is currently sitting in it. I hope this is it.

[Andrew7769]

my fingers are crossed

[Pam]

Is it a very deep hole? Mine usually dig a deep narrow hole with their back legs. Did you notice if she used her back legs. Keep us posted!

[Spookster]

Well no eggs this time. The hole was big enough for her to fit into and she had her rear end perched over it for awhile today. I think she is taking it one step at a time. The first two times in the pen I think she was just getting used to it. This time she digs a hole and practices her crouching technique. Maybe next time she will practice her lamaze breathing. And then after that we might see some eggs.

[steve]

Maybe next time she will practice her lamaze breathing. And then after that we might see some eggs.

Glad you're all patient over there
Hopefully the eggs will come soon!

[Spookster]

Maybe next time she will practice her lamaze breathing. And then after that we might see some eggs.

Glad you're all patient over there
Hopefully the eggs will come soon!

Yeah not all of us get to be lucky like you and have our turtles do it right away without driving us nuts. It's not fair.

[steve]

Trust me, my turtles find other ways to drive me nuts!

[industrial_girl_2000]

My Sheba used to lay eggs all the time when I had her in a 50 gal. tank with a Male RES. When I let her out of the tank to walk around the living room, she spent a lot of time digging with her hind legs & didn't want to go back into the tank. This would go on for a week or two. Then, she would eventually dig her way under the bean bag in the living room and next thing you know, there were 4-5 eggs under the bean bag! I tried to rescue them & hatch them once, but with no success.

Other times, she would lay them in the tank water & then would try to eat them. Egg yolk everywhere in the tank! This made a HUGE mess!!!

She used to lay eggs a couple of times a year & we used to hate it because it was always stressful for us trying to catch her so we could get the eggs before she tried to eat them. She finally stopped laying eggs a couple of years after I gave away the male RES. Thank goodness!!!!!!!!!!