General Care Discussion :: odd behavor

[Robert m]

its been a long while since i have posted on this site but my RES is just acting very odd lately.
for the last two weeks or so her apatite has dropped way down and she barely eats. she is being very destructive to her tank and all things inside it especially if we put something new in there. she has tried to even lift some of the old stuff out of the water by getting under it and swimming to the dock with it on her back. all day long she is in and out of the water and it seems like she is trying to escape. she has never really done any of this before and its starting to worry us. what could this be?

[twyangzii]

Would she be gravid?

[Robert m]

only her in the tank

[twyangzii]

A female can be gravid even without a male .
Just unfertilized eggs that's all .

[Robert m]

how can you tell if she is then? and if she is what should we do to help her?
another thing she is doing is digging in the rocks on the bottom of the tank like shes looking for something.

[twyangzii]

Is she eating?
Most gravid females hardly eat - &&. they'll try to escape.

I am not sure as I've never encountered before, maybe you can give her some box to dig in with dirts and soils?

[Robert m]

so my girlfriend took her out side and as she was roaming the flowerbed she started digging holes with her back legs after 40 minutes and 3 holes she still didnt lay any eggs. so the next day we built her a nesting box 3 foot x 2 foot and about a foot deep with sand and compost but she hates it and will not even dig in it. now when we take her out side all she does is wander around like nothing is wrong.
how picky are turtles when it comes to places to lay there eggs? what else can we do for her?

[SpotsMama]

Turtles are famously picky about where they lay their eggs. Some have had luck with nesting boxes but most won't use them. They do better outside in a flowerbed or underneath some bushes.

I've heard of turtles laying eggs and their keepers didn't know because they didn't see the eggs in the hole. If you dig around where she was digging, maybe you'll find some eggs that you missed before.

Turtles are also famous for false starts when it comes to egg laying, especially when they are first time egg layers. They may stop and start for days without laying, then one day, they will go through with it.

If a turtle has eggs that get stuck inside, a vet can detect it with an x ray. They can also administer a drug to help the turtle lay.

[Robert m]

so how long does it take for her to lay the eggs once she shows signs of being gravid? she is constantly trying to dig on her dock with here back legs but its tile so she cant get a hole started. then when we take her outside to dig she just walks around and doesnt dig anymore.

[Opus]

You just have to keep trying,you know let her dig more!