General Care Discussion :: HELP! ARE THERE EGGS???

[cloverRES]

Ok, so i read the info about reproduction, and that didn't seem to help much. CLover is 3 years old, and has never been exposed to a male. She does the digging thing in the tank all the time. It said to feel around her legs for eggs. what should that feel like? and what do i do if she does have eggs? It said to make a nest, but I'm not sure how. Her tank is 30 gallons and more than half full with water. Please help me, I don't want her to get sick. THank you all!

[sflemin2]

There doesnt have to be a male..they could be unfertilized. A user made this video to teach you how to feel for eggs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY2pRyQgn9o ..to me it feels like BBs

The nesting area is tricky. Theres quite a few threads about the nesting area. It needs to be twice as deep as her shell is long made of dirt and sand. Most people have better luck just taking the turtle outside (under surpervision of course). My turtle refused to lay eggs anywhere but in the water . You can always go to the vet and get an xray.

If she DOES have eggs in the water, she will destroy them herself. You may not even know she laid them. I usually only know by very cloudy water (yolk) and tiny pieces of egg shell on the bottom of the tank...and turtles with full mouths lol

She seems a little young for eggs though

[cloverRES]

Ok, thank you. how long does it take for them to lay eggs, like you said that you take her outside. How do I know when to do that? and Where do i put the nest area?

[Love of Animals]

How big is she? She may not be ready to lay yet. Wait and see what happens. Most people describe a frantic turtle trying to escape. Some people say they go off their feed. Some people see nothing but eggs in the water. Every turtle is different.

[sflemin2]

Mine actually was so frantic to escape that she did (which she has NEVER done in her 10 years of life)..and took a 5 foot fall and got some cuts on her head and neck . I have made it impossible for her to get out now. But she frantically swims at the side of the tank, tries to climb up the side of the basking area, and stretches up and reaches as far as she can. She gets an attitude too and becomes to dominant turtle. Most people take them outside when they do the frantic escape as Love of Animals said.

Honestly though, I don't think yours is old enough

[cloverRES]

Cool, thats good, I really don't want to deal with that. What is the normal age? I got her in march.

[sflemin2]

I am not 100% sure but I think they are typically about 6 inches .. around 5 years..

[theartbook35]

Nesting areas are annoying. I know from personal experience. Females will flap around insanely all the time when they have eggs. They will try to escape the tank, and will also refuse to eat food.

Here's how it works:

Day one of gravid behavior, place the turtle in a box they cannot climb out of, fill with sand or snake bedding or sphagnum peat moss. Keep her in there for a few hours, with the top covered with a towel or board or anything to keep it fairly dark but a space for air to get in. After a few hours are over, check to see how she is, but be very quiet about it so you don't scare her. Keep her in the box for a few more hours and check again. Try to keep her in there for as long as you possibly can, and place her back in her tank at night.

Day two of gravid behavior, if the nesting box doesn't work, then bring her outside. Try to introduce her to an area with slopes, bushes and ground that is just dirt without any grass. Make sure she cannot see you, or she won't lay the eggs.

Just note that both of these methods have not worked for my gravid female, and we have had to bring her to the vet twice for induction shots. It's not a fun experience when she in danger of becoming very ill.

[sflemin2]

I think the ideal set up is to have the nesting area attached to the tank somehow so they can be more comfortable and go in and out as they please but that is a difficult thing to do since it needs to be so big! I havent seen many setups like that. My turtle literally let her legs hang off of the basking area beside the glass and laid them that way. I had no luck with the nesting box either. She just wanted out of it. I have never taken her outside because every time she shows the behavior, its either snowing or raining .

theartbook35, how old was yours the first time she laid eggs? I think mine was 5 or 6 years

[bigG]

I guess I'm lucky to have a fenced (wooden) backyard where I can let my female run around and select her nesting spot. My turtle has three modes of attention getting: 1) I want food, 2) I want to walk around, and 3) I really, really need to go outside and dig a nest. I can easily distinguish the three behaviors by simply holding a food canister in front. If she follows it and attempts to bite it, she's hungry. If she doesn't respond to the food and continues to splash, then I take her outside and let her walk around or dig. Lately, she's just wants to go outside. However, when she's through, she often comes back to the sliding glass door and scratches at it to tell me she's done.

[sflemin2]

Really? Thats cool! Mine HATE being out of their tank! I have a 4 acre..unfenced yard (with a lot of random stray dogs) so they have never been out there

[theartbook35]

theartbook35, how old was yours the first time she laid eggs? I think mine was 5 or 6 years

Sadie is somewhere between 10 and 20 years old, and we got her from someone else, so, we don't know if this is her first clutch or not.

bigG- That's really cool, but, just so you know, turtles don't get "hungry". You turtle is following the food container because she associates it with food, and they are opportunistic eaters. They eat whenever they see food.