General Care Discussion :: Laying eggs Question

[Blue Flamingo]

So my turtle is a little over 5inches. She has never laid eggs yet so I think that maybe her nesting area is not adequate. She has a 12 x 10 container with organic dirt, several inches deep. She is in a relatively quite room with the light on. While in her "tank" she swim back and forth like she is trying to get out (I heard that was one of the signs that they need to lay eggs.?) While in her nesting container all she does is go to the corner and sit there, some times looking around, sometimes hiding her head. Once she buried her upper body. Does her container need to be in the dark or should I have a heating lamp above her, or does she need to have a heating pad underneath the container? How long do I leaver her in the container. Do I need to take her out and try every day or would that stress her out.

Any advice will be very much appreciated.

[scripta_elegans]

I hope someone with more experience than me jumps in here, but if your turtle is only a little over a year, I think she might be kind of young to be laying eggs. I think females are usually at least 3 years old when they start laying eggs. 5 inches is big enough though, so I may be very wrong. Are you sure she isn't begging? Does she do it when she can't see you as well, or is she just doing it when you are near the tank?

[steve]

They can be very picky and they may have their own preferences... I haven't had luck with nesting containers.. and it was a 60 gallon tub.

How big is her tank?

[Blue Flamingo]

Her water tank is 55 gallon, and her nesting is a 12 x 10 container, 10 gallons maybe. I not sure how old she is but I've had her for one year but she is older then that.

[Blue Flamingo]

So would you recommend just setting her up an outside nesting area if so how big should the area be?

[DavidY]

A bigger nesting box would definitely be a good idea, or an outside area, but you need to keep an eye on her while she is outside. She will disappear quickly if you don't. In the wild, a RES will sometimes travel quite far from their pond to lay their eggs.

Their are some other threads on here about making a nesting box. You may want to check them out too.

[industrial_girl_2000]

One thing I have noticed with my female RES in the past when she wanted to lay eggs is that she would be making all sorts of noise & really trying to get out of the tank in every way possible. She got down-right creative a couple of times & we had to reinforce the sides of her tank basking area to keep her in!

When we did let her out (onto the carpet), she would dig dig dig dig dig with her hind legs into the carpet & just strain like crazy trying to lay eggs! At the time I didn't know anything about the egg-laying (there was no information 13 yrs ago & very few vets you could go to). She eventually would dig her way under my beanbag in the living room & lay them there. Pick up beanbag, and there were 6 eggs...! I don't recommend this tactic. BUT if you need to see if she will lay eggs, the digging in the carpet is one good indicator. An x-ray at the vet is a better way to check.

One guy on this board took his female RES out to a large open sandy field to let her lay her eggs. If you can do this, I would recommend that over a box. turtles can be really picky about where they lay their eggs & sometimes an artificial box of soil just won't cut it (unfortunately!!! Yeesh!)

[marisa]

Are you sure she's gravid (needs to lay eggs)? Just swimming back and forth in the tank doesn't necessarily mean that she has eggs to lay. Does she try to dig in the tank with her hind legs? Does she eat well (they'll often lose their appetites if they have eggs to lay).

[Blue Flamingo]

She eats well, is active and basks regularly. I've never seen her dig with her back legs. So maybe she's just not ready. Do they always dig with their hind legs when they are ready to lay eggs? Cause that would be something easy to spot and make our lives a little easier.

Industrial_girl_2000 and Marisa thanks for the great visuals now I'll now what to look for when she is ready.

DavidY, I'll definitely make a bigger nesting box and if that doesn’t work we'll have to make a trip outside.

[DavidY]

If she's not digging with her hind legs then I don't think she's really gravid. Can you feel any eggs when you gently touch in front of her back legs? If not, then I wouldn't worry about nesting yet. A nice walk outside every now and then is always a good idea, though, as long as it's warm enough outside.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Do they always dig with their hind legs when they are ready to lay eggs? Cause that would be something easy to spot and make our lives a little easier.

Yes. In order to lay eggs in nature, they have to dig a hole with their hind legs so when you see this digging motion, you will know for sure!