Photo Gallery :: Eggs!

[steve]

My 3-yr old female RES decided to lay some eggs! This is her first clutch and they consist of 4 eggs. 2 are the size of grapes and the other 2 are the size of peanut m&m's.

She took almost 4 hours and preformed the most intricate and meticulous procedure. Here's her eggs after I dug them up:

[Turtleboy]

wow thats so cool! don't you ruin em by digging/touching em though? keep us updated!

[missibsu]

How very neat. That would have been a great thing to record as a video. Then we could have all watched it. Why do you suppose there is a size difference in the eggs?

Oh and hey...can we get a pic of the whole breeding area that you have set up?

[steve]

Turtleboy, these are her first eggs and they are probably not fertilized. Both she and my male RES are only 3 years old. They will not hatch.

She did this very slowly, so it would have been a very boring movie. She looked so cute when she was finished. She turned around and had an exhausted expression

The size difference is probably because she is not fully grown and could not let the eggs develop before she laid them. But that's just an uneducated guess. I'll look for a wide pic, though there is nothing special. She picked an area along a wall and kept digging. We had a lot of rain lately, and I think it softened the soil enough for her to dig into.

[sonyj]

Cool! Now you know why she has been behaving oddly like you had posted previously and will be able to look for it in the future. I've heard that they are very picky about their nesting area, is this why she took a while to lay them or is this normal time? Keep us informed at how she does and thanks for sharing.

[steve]

Sonja, she didn't act that unusual for me to suspect eggs, but I'm glad its over with. Oh well, she's doing well and everything is back to normal.

She wasn't very picky, but the nest should definitely be in an area with no traffic and the soil needs to be fairly soft. She didn't like gravely dirt or grassy areas. I'm not sure why it took so long since I was expecting a 2-hr process. It was her first time, so that may have contributed to the length and there were some large rock in the soil that probably slowed her down a bit.

She laid her eggs in this corner:

[Pugness]

how would you know whether or not the eggs are fertile??

[sonyj]

how would you know whether or not the eggs are fertile??

I was just thinking the same thing Steve. If male RES are supposed to mature faster than female RES in general. And your female RES is already laying eggs at 3 years, then couldn't your male RES also be mature and therefore it could be possible that the eggs are fertile. I'm not saying they are specifically in your case (especially since this is her first clutch) but just hypothetically it could be possible, right?

I can see why she picked that spot, it looks well protected and safe. Smart "mom".

[steve]

I think the males mature slower than females. Plus, her first batch of eggs may not be the healthiest either. The eggs are also fairly small so I'd rather wait till she's nearly full grown to decide whether or not I want to hatch her eggs.

[sonyj]

I think the males mature slower than females. Plus, her first batch of eggs may not be the healthiest either. The eggs are also fairly small so I'd rather wait till she's nearly full grown to decide whether or not I want to hatch her eggs.

Ok, I based my info of males maturing faster on this site I read a while back. http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/Fall01%20projects/reslider.htm.

It makes sense to wait a while before deciding to keep any eggs. Let us know if she does this again and how soon. I'm trying to prepare myself in case Koopa does turn out to be a girl.

[jn]

HAHA THAT IS COOOL i want a girl for my little rasco haha

[steve]

Ok, I based my info of males maturing faster on this site I read a while back. http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/Fall01%20projects/reslider.htm.

It makes sense to wait a while before deciding to keep any eggs. Let us know if she does this again and how soon. I'm trying to prepare myself in case Koopa does turn out to be a girl.

That's an interesting site (my next reading assignment ). 2 years for male maturity seems awfully fast. My male RES has had previous health problems and is somewhat small for his age. Though he does love to court my female slider.

That site also mentioned 5 years for female maturity and my baby girl is only 3. There is a lot of good info on that site that I might incorporate into this site Thanks for the link.

[gammeragirl]

My female is 3 years old, she is "single" and I'm concerned she may need to lay eggs, even tho she is alone. She has no nesting area, just her tank and a large Zoomed basking dock. Should I be concerned?? How do you know when they are getting eggs inside of them?

[Spookster]

My female is 3 years old, she is "single" and I'm concerned she may need to lay eggs, even tho she is alone. She has no nesting area, just her tank and a large Zoomed basking dock. Should I be concerned?? How do you know when they are getting eggs inside of them?

Check out this thread
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3709

That is what prompted steve's thread here. Our turtles were acting crazy and frantically trying to get out of their tanks.

[marisa]

Male maturity is more based on size than age.