General Care Discussion :: female RES being spayed

[mehtatnz]

I have had my turtle for about 5-6 years now and this weekend while i was cleaning out her tank and filter she managed to climb a curtain and fall back and smash a bit of her shell by her bum..it was just the edging and nothing on her belly or back thank goodness. so after taking her to the only specialised vet in my city, we get her back today and they vet says the shell is all fine etc however they ran a crap load of tests and her blood tests show her lower in clacium etc etc and that i now have to give her calcium shots for a week or two and also that i need to bring her in next week for another check up and then they said how i should get her spayed because she might have issues with eggs not forming properly and then they would have to do surgery...

first off we had no idea she was a she..she is medium size for almost everything and the vets we went to could never quiet figure it out, so i had no idea, we all thought she was a he until today, so therefore i have no idea about female RES nor about all these problems the vet seems to be saying she has. now i know she needs more calcium that is fine i will get her extra but untill now i was told she was a he.

i have never heard of getting a turtle spayed is it really nessesary, if the blood work comes back as her calcium is back up and all seems fine should she be okay with just extra calcium in her diet?

I may sound vauge with all of this but i am just trying to get my head around everything now and learn up about female turtles and specifics to them (any help would be awesome!) she has never laid an egg or showen any different behvaiour.

any help or info would be super helpful, has anyone gone through this having their turtle spayed?? she has been so healthy and fine and i have noticed no change in her the whole time i have had her, so i am curious as to peoples opinions as i hardly know anyone who owns turtles

thanks

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Any chance you can post a pic of tail extended on you turtle? Just to make sure they are right. The vet deals with turtles regularly? I find it a little weird that they gave your turtle calcium shots and not just tell you to put in cuttlebone and see if it raises it by next check up. Usually dont give calcium shots unless shell is actually getting soft.

As for getting turtle spayed, have heard of it but if you have calcium lvls right there should be no issues with eggs. Since your turtle which sounds like its housed alone it may never lay eggs. So not sure why they want you to get that done. Why put it under the stress when it doesnt have to be.

All the tests too, weird. Seems like alot just for a fall. Something my vet i deal with wouldnt do.

Well i just wanna make sure you turtle is actually a she because if it isnt id would be alarmed. Some vets takes guesses when their not used to dealing with exotics. My strong opinion would not get it spayed. No reason.

[mehtatnz]

The vets are the only exotic vets in my city and I took the turtle there before when it ate some little stones (first time turtle owner silly mistake) and they treated her/him really well then. As for her calcium I was rather shocked when they gave me the shots I thought that the levels may have been lower as I have been away for two weeks and my partner didn't know to put calcium blocks in her tank. But yeah

I am glad my suspicions where on the right track, ill post some pics once I get home from my night shift

[steve]

What's her normal diet like? No alternatives besides shots? They preformed those tests without asking? That raises some flags with me too.

[mehtatnz]

she has her clacium blocks usually when i change her water during the week, however i think i will increase that now i know and other than that she has frozen turtle food, sometimes pellets (its alternates) and for treats some fruit sometimes like apples and she loves her grapes, and she might get some blood worms every now and then,

here are some pics she is very energtic and hard to keep still for photos so i did my best












hope this is okay

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Thats a female haha. So your vet must know what their doing. Judging by her size she could of layed eggs probably past 2years. I still see no point at all in spending the money or a reason to get her spayed.

[mehtatnz]

okay awesome thnanks for that

[apondfortimmy]

I had never even heard of spaying a turtle. How the heck... ? I mean, the shell... and ... I know some turtle anatomy but I just can't figure this one out.

Glad your girl is ok.

[steve]

Spaying is a very dangerous operation for a turtle. Reptiles don't do well under general anesthesia, so it doesn't seem worth it in most cases.