General Care Discussion :: nesting areas

[TessaRuby]

does anyone have any pictures they would like to share on nesting areas they have created?


or any fairly easy ideas i've read everything i could. and still seem rather confused... ???

i have a basic idea. thanks to this wonderful site.

but does she need constant access to the nesting area leading from her tank? to it at all times?

can i simply take her out and put her there for a while if so for how long?



I've only had my turtle for 2 months and i believe she is only 2 or more years old. she's till small. about 3'' she keeps digging in her tank and even if she is not ready to nest.

I'd like to get one ready before hand and have her exposed and comfortable when and if she ever does lay her eggs.


I dont want to go about it wrong . so all feedback i will consider

thank you in advance!

[marisa]

Being about 2 years old and with a shell length of 3 inches, she sounds a bit young to be gravid.

When you say she's digging in her tank, is she digging with her front or hind legs? (A gravid turtle makes digging motions with the hind legs.) Do you have a lot of small stones/pebbles on the bottom of the tank? If they're smaller than her head, it would be good to get rid of them.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

You can take her out and put her in the nesting box. Thats how i have always been doing it and yea your turtle is still to small and young to lay eggs

[TessaRuby]

I’m not sure if she's 2 years. I'm just going off the size and from when my boyfriend claims to have gotten her.

He thinks she's got to be at least 3 or 4.... Possibly 5.

Now im beginning to think she's anywhere from 3-4 years old. ??

She’s not really making any odd movements with her hide legs from what I can tell. More of a constant active motion swimming at corners and walls of her tank. preferably one side and corner she just braces her head and goes goes goes... like its a race.

How old and approximately how big will she be before she will need to nest?

No there are stones in her tank. Thank you for the info though. Good to know!


I'm going to get a nesting area ready to have her exposed to it.

Thank you for the picture that actually looks kind of fun.

Can I use eco soil like the coconut soil used for tarantulas and lizards?

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Well they can lay eggs at 3 to 5 years of age with a shell length of 4inches. Seeing as you have no male in with I really doubt she has eggs.

Has her actions always been like this or did she just change and become restless?

You should try feeling in the gap between her hind legs cause you can feel the eggs that way.

You can use that soil, i think thats what i use or somewhere along the lines of that stuff.

[TessaRuby]

nope no male friend just our maggie. but wont she still produce eggs they just wont be fertile?

when I get home from work tonight I will measure her exact and feel around her tummy. see if I can feel anything.

do you think a vet could determine her age?

[Diamondbacks4Life]

do you think a vet could determine her age?

Nope unless you had turtle from begining they cant tell. Your turtle you think could be 3 or 4 years old and its 3". My turtle is almost is about 10" You would think wow it must be old. She is only going on 3years old. Your turtle could actually be older then mine lol. Res grow at different rates and sizes. Just like humans. So telling age is very hard.

Theres a chance she could produce infertile eggs but usually they are not a full clutch and are just 1 or 2 eggs and it wont be that often. She could go her whole life since shes not with a male without ever producing an egg.