General Care Discussion :: STEVE..or anyone who has had gravid RES.....

[camee1991]

OK....after ALLLLLl the questions about Tobi girl lastnite being "frantically swimming", kicking everything around "not normal redecorating", not hungry, and trying to escape her aquarium (which she HAS NEVER DONE B-4!)...we decided, even though I dont feel eggs in front of her hind legs that she still is gravid.

She is 4 years old..10"long and about 8" wide. About 5 pounds worth of massive turtle! lol

Anyhow..I bought a 18" tall Sterlite container and put dirt and sand in it this afternoon....since I was going NUTS watching her 24/7 in her water trying to get OUT of the tank and nose diving off the side of her basking platform...and her jittery behavior was making me nervous!! Soooooo....I put her in this container 2 times today for over 3 hours each time...

She has done NOTHING but try to escape it! No digging or anything? WT? Should I continue daily to just put her in it and not worry? She calms down a TON in the nesting area. (Cept for trying to get over the top...) Which is NICE since when I put her back in her tank she is "chill" for a while.

How long does this take?! lol Will she EVER dig and LAY? Im afraid she will kill herself in her aquarium for as restless and crazy she is acting in there!!!

Here are a few pix of her... (trying to escape nesting area) And a pic of her tank NOW..I had to put an addition basking area under the one we use and lower the water level and put covers above her spot..since she is trying to sneak out AND busting her head diving off the side of the green platform! Hope this helps!

If anyone has ANY other ideas...Please, please, please, send them my way!!!

(I am Soooo gonna get outta here...)


(Getting higher...)


(HA! Made it up..Dangit! Can't get OUT!)


(Pic of her NEW (HA) hopefully turtle "sneaking out" proof tank!)

[steve]

I've had zero success using a nesting box and I used a 60 gallon tub. The dirt would need to be several inches deep anyway. Have you tried going outside yet?

[camee1991]

Well...Crapola! (About the box)...(at least I know what calms her down! lol)

No, didnt go outside today. It was toooooo hot and the ground is so hard!

Think I should I wet it 1st?

I can go outside but only in the front..have 2 dogs in back. Think it is ok for long periods with such heat and really no shade? We have no trees in the front. I dont want her to overheat or anything. (Me either for that much!)

But it is more important that she doesnt have eggbinding...UGH!

(You oughta see her since 9:30 when I took her out of the nesting box...lol she has been sleeping on the bottom of her tank! She was plain tuckered out!)

[steve]

Yes, you can try to wet it. It might not be necessary, since the ground will be cooler if she starts digging. Do you have dirt in your front? What about a garden? Anyway to restrain your dogs?

[camee1991]

Nope on the dog situation...and I really dont want her diggin in POO, if ya know what I mean...ick!

The front...no garden, but some brick areas around some bushes that she has shown some interest in digging around earlier this summer?! Maybe that will work?! And yeah, the whole front yard is grassy..so it should be easy for her to find "her" place! Im gonna have to stay the WHOLE time...even if she was in a fence I would stay anyhow.

Guess I'll check on her behavior later and see what she does outdoors...and pray it aint too hot! Oklahoma STINKS this time of year!

Thanks again Steve!

[steve]

Her instincts will tell her where to lay them. If she thinks she's found a suitable spot, it shouldn't take her long to get to work. And she will be exhausted once she's done

[camee1991]

Cool! Cant wait and HOPE she finds a spot soon! lol This behavior is freaking me out! lol

Here's to a PERFECT nesting/laying day ahead!!!!

[SpotsMama]

If the ground is hard around the bushes you might try loosening it with a spade if you have one.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Does she exhibit any rear leg digging behavior if you take her out in your living room (or any other) carpet area? If she is gravid, she will immediately find a spot and start digging digging digging.

If she digs with her hind-legs in the carpet, I would take her out to an empty field/park/beach area, follow her around, let her wander a bit, and see if she will lay the eggs naturally in the soil. Of course, if you know a farmer ("owner of a field"), you could ask permission to wander around in his/her field, but I don't see why anyone would say no to a request like this if you are nice about explaining things. Be patient....gravid turtles are sometimes picky & you may have to wander with her for a coupla hours so don't be in a hurry when you do this. Don't worry, she won't dehydrate.

Sheba has been gravid in the past as well, but she laid eggs under the beanbag in the living room (NOT ideal....I don't recommend this). I figured if she was ever gravid again, I would do the walking-around-a-field idea since it is more natural way for her to find a place to lay the eggs.

[Kayra33]

Will the turtles just find a spot outside and it's over? You can pick them up and take them back inside? I don't take Brooks outside much, she pretty much just loves her tank. I take her out every once in awhile and we go outside to walk around but I really really watch her so I don't accidentally lose her. I haven't made an outside area for her b/c we rent our house. Someday when we build I will make a whole area outside with a little turtle pond and fenced in area but for now I hope when Brooks decides to nest that she goes in a rubbermaid container filled with sand and dirt. She is about 4 years old, 7 inches long and weighs about 1.5 pounds and she hasn't shown any signs of being gravid....

[untsmurf]

I live in TX so I know what you're talking about with the weather, try taking her out early in the morning or later in the afternoon. Midday is always ridiculously hot.

[marisa]

Is there any way you can put her into an enclosed area so that she can just wander around and dig at will? They'll often try several spots before settling on one that they like.

The depth of the soil in a nesting box should ideally be about 3/4 the length of the turtle.

[camee1991]

WOW! Thanks for all the responses!

Well...today wasnt the PERFECT day I thought it would be...we were out front for a few hours and she acted as if she was "nesting" in about 3 areas (dug and dug and dug!)...then the kids next door came out and freaked her out..so she walked away. Then she tried again...and she stopped and walked away again. Sooo I took her back in to her nesting box and she did a bunch of nuthin'. Just trying to climb out. So she went back to the water.

She is walking around the house right now, but is pretty much staying on the kitchen floor. She hasnt "dug" into the carpet yet. So I really dont know?! She still isnt eating and is acting crazy...until she tires from being out of her tank. Then she calms.

I called my vet today and she also mentioned going to a large farm like area which my inlaws happen to have, so she can walk around and "do her thing". I guess we may do that if nothing happens before we can.

I DO need to loosen the soil! I figured that out! It is awful! We had sooo much rain; but now all the dirt is cracked. And Im glad to know she wont dehydrate. Vet suggested to leave her in the nesting area most all day and just take her out a couple times to drink?! I dont know about that. She gets sooo restless and will try to get out and she even flipped over on her back earlier and if I wasnt THERE she couldnt have righted herself.

Man...this is nuts! lol Wish she would just lay in the water! (Be PATIENT....I keep trying to tell myself this!!!)

WHEN something happens I will post pix for sure!

[DavidY]

he he, reminds me of when my wife was pregnant with our first son. Several false alarm races to the hospital. ...plus the wacky behavior.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Is she digging in the yard with her REAR legs? Reason I ask is if she is digging with her front arms, that is not nesting behavior. Sorry if this question sounds stupid, but I am just trying to figure out what is going on with her & it wasn't something you mentioned in your posts.