General Care Discussion :: How Often do Turtles Lay Sterile Eggs?

[Yayita]

Hi All,

Haven't logged in for a while but 2 weeks ago my turtle had eggs and I noticed it because of her behaviour. Hind legs twitching alot and digging around the floor, falling asleep in the water alot, not eating and basking excesively. I bought her sand and soil mix and put her in there but nothing happened so 3 days later I took her to the vet.

They Xray'd her and found 5 eggs.. Here is an Xray pic.



They gave her medicine so she expells them and as soon as I got home she expelled 5 eggs. That was 2 weeks ago... keep in mind that she has never been mated and has no contact with any other animals.. ever.



3 days ago she started oozing this white stringy like thing and it was almost like egg white looking.. I have never seen it before and it happened for a couple of days and then stopped.

Yesterday she once again fell asleep in the water in the middle of the day.. not her normal behavior and has started walking around the house frantically.

Should I be concerned that she has produced more eggs?? How often do eggs regrow on a turtle that has never mated?

Thanks alot for your help!

Yayi*

[marisa]

I don't know what the white, stringy substance is, but why don't you call the vet and describe it to him.

A turtle can produce several clutches of eggs a year, and I don't think it has to do with whether or not the turtle has mated.

[Yayita]

Thanks Marisa, I knew this but i was wondering if it can be that soon, you know.. 2 weeks apart? Do they produce eggs that fast??

[Tenodera]

Did the eggs crack by themselves or did you pop them?

the white stringy things sound like a tapeworm. You should get a fecal sample and send it to the vet.

Hope she gets better!

[SpotsMama]

Here's a thread with a photo of a turtle with a tape worm. Does your look anything like this?

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... 55&start=0

Probably a real good idea to do as both Marisa and Tenodera suggested and communicate with your vet.

[Yayita]

Hi spotsmama,

Not really, the coloring is the same but my turtles is not that thick or that much. I saw those pics yesterday and that looked quite serious.

The white thread was very think and she only had a few of them floating in the water, I never saw them coming out or attached to her.

Tenodera, she cracked them, we werent watching and when we went to see her she had walked all over the eggs and popped them.

[steve]

I remember there was a bit of a clear/whitish substance that can out of my female RES but that was right after she had nested. It is possible that she might be producing more eggs, were you able to feel them the last time?

[Yayita]

Thanks Steve, that is exactly what i think is happening, that is why I am wondering how much time passes in between egg production.

July 2nd was when I took her to he vet and she expelled her eggs, is it possible for her to produc more so soon?

Oh man, today she did the hind leg dance, so i am now convinced she has more eggs.. again!

Will this keep happening all summer long? is there an operation to stop her from producing eggs on her own ?

[caramelissa]

in my (very limited) experience, my res has been making eggs every 2 to 2 1/2 weeks. they typically lay 3-4 clutches a year, and my res just laid her 3rd, so i'm hoping that's the end of that for at least this year

[pflyz1126]

Hi!

My RES has never mated and lives alone. I found a cracked egg in the water yesterday and freaked. To clarify, a turtle can just lay eggs? Can they make baby turtles or do they need to mate? Should I provide a place for her to lay the eggs, if she has more? She currently lives in an 80 gallon with on baskin area, no dirt or sand. Help!

[Tenodera]

Yes, turtles are like chickens, they'll lay eggs whether they mated or not. It'll just be unfertilized. You can let her lay her eggs in the yard if its nice and sunny, but you'll need to watch her carefully

Or you could set up a dirt container for her to lay her eggs in. If a female doesn't get a good egg-laying spot, sometimes they are stubborn and will hold their eggs and this will cause impaction

[Tenodera]

Oh, and by the way,

Welcome to the forum!