General Care Discussion :: empty nest?

[MrsQuick]

Ok so Bonnie dug and dug, moved her but around in different positions for awhile, then about an hour and a half last covered up her "nest" and was trying to get out, so we put her back in her tank and gently felt around, and theres no eggs..is this normal for a 1st time mom? Or turt moms in general, a practice run maybee? lol...

[MrsQuick]

Gez, no one? Well I researched and found that turtles will tend to lay empty nests (sometimes carious)to throw off predators, I think being as it is her first time and she was nervous this is prolly what she did.

[steve]

When you said felt around -- you mean around the nest? The eggs won't be that easy to find, and might be smaller than normal since this is her first nest.

[MrsQuick]

I gently moved the dirt slowly and carefully like in the vid that was posted in my other thread about nesting and found nothing..just dirt....

[marisa]

I've seen them in the wild spend time digging a nest only to give up on it and wander around a bit, settle in another spot and dig again, and complete the egg laying. I think if they feel threatened, they will stop digging and start in a new place (I once got too close to one and that's exactly what she did).

Painteds, at least, are masters of disguising their nests. One made a nest and laid eggs last June. I watched and was certain I could find the spot. When I went to where I knew she had been digging, it was nearly impossible to see where the nest had been made; it had been covered with bits of grass and leaves. The only way I could find it was by the difference in the soil. I did not remove enough to expose the eggs, only to know where the nest was.

[MrsQuick]

yup checked over the whole box, nada..lol! And she is not seeming interested so.I'll just keep an eye on her

[azazeal]

well... did she lay the eggs? the female will dig nests only to abandon them if they don't like the conditions, good luck with them