General Care Discussion :: Nesting/burrowing question

[jkw]

Uncertain as to whether or not my 4.5 inch grrrrl was exhibiting nesting behavior, I've been exposing her to a nice compost/sand mixture in an extra 10 gallon tank. After exploring for a bit, she promptly buries herself under the dirt making no move to come out. Ambient temperature is about 72 degrees, just a few degrees cooler than her 75 gallon tank and the basking lamp sits on the dirt side, making it a warm 85 degrees...
Is this normal behavior for a water turtle? Maybe it's too hot in there? Normally, she's fairly active and basks, eats regularly....
I'm also having a difficult time feeling in FRONT of her hind legs because she pulls her legs in tightly....
Anyway, I was just wondering how long she should/could remain that way; I'm always stressing out, trying to clean her tank faster.....

[steve]

What were the symptoms? Digging with rear feet, lack of appetite, etc ?

[jkw]

She just starts digging inward with her foreclaws, burrows in until entirely covered and stops. And, on the contrary, she seems to have an enormous appetite, swims regularly, and basks normally. Shrug...I'm thinking that the nesting aquarium gets a bit too warm and will try not using it next time. Her lighting is fairly regular at about 12 hours a day and room temp is fairly constant, so.....
Thanks for the response, though...

[megcornell]

What were the symptoms that she displayed before you put her in a nest box?
What signs pointed to her being gravid?

[jkw]

She seemed/seems a tad more active than usual, digging through her rocks, clawing at the glass, seemed/seems a bit restless, much more active than the previous three months. BUT, I'm still a newbie and am probably overly concerned. Unlike most posts, but like some, she's still an eating machine (if she IS carrying), but lately she has been really munching on her cuttlebones, consuming a full one in about a week...
Perhaps it's just a growth spurt and/or finally a good eco-environment with her still new home?

[SpotsMama]

Sometimes turtles do like to burrow and bury themselves in some sort of soft substrate. The first year I let my Spot outside in the grass to explore he would sometimes try to burrow under a little plastic kiddie pool we had in the back. I don't know why they do it - maybe they are kind of scared and are trying to hide, maybe the temperature is too warm for them.

When a female is gravid she digs a hole with her back feet, not her front feet. And I haven't heard of a gravid female trying to bury herself. She just wanders around looking for a good place to lay and finally digs the hole with her back feet and lays her eggs.

[jkw]

Hahahah sounds perfectly logical to me! Thanks for all the replies and comments...they go a long way in establishing a good less stressful relationship with my new turtle...

[ceratlc]

So at some point do all females need to lay eggs? I've had mine for about a year, and they're about 14 years old, and I do not know if they have ever laid eggs.

[industrial_girl_2000]

So at some point do all females need to lay eggs? I've had mine for about a year, and they're about 14 years old, and I do not know if they have ever laid eggs.

If they ever need to lay eggs, you will know. I have had my female turtle for 18 yrs (she was already an adult when I got her) & she laid eggs for about 5 yrs, but then quit. She hasn't laid eggs in, gosh, I can't remember, but it has been a REALLY long time (at least 7 yrs since the last time!).

They lay eggs when they need to.....there's no set rule.

[ceratlc]

Okay, thank you so much! =) I was starting to get rather worried.

[Tiny]

This kinda sets my mind at ease, because my Tiny has been restless, agressive, eating everthing, even her dock. She was doing the dance with the tree in her tank nightly. I tried letting her in the dirt this week, and she just kinda plays areound and wanders one end to the other of the 20 gallons, but won't dig. Her digging too is by front legs. She wriggles her rear end around, but doesn't exactly dig with those back legs. I guess she's just excited about spring coming!