General Care Discussion :: Help with egg laying.

[squall3773]

So i have a female res who about a week ago was climbing out of the water and digging around in woodchips looking for a place to lay her eggs.
Obviously she didnt find a good area, and she kept looking for i guess the next three days. It was only on that third day i got to putting a plastic container thats about 18 inches by 2 feet and a foot deep. Inside i put soil on the bottom first 6 inches and then the top 6 inches is a mix of soil and verimculite. I keep the area moist, not wet and definetly not dry and its under a light that gets the area to about 92(like her basking area).
My problem is that like i said its been a week and after those three days she hasnt gone to look for a place to lay nemore.
I was wondering on how to get her instincts up and go looking again.
i tried upping the aquarium to 79 (from 76) to simulate a sort of spring, but this isnt changing anything.
Maybe im just a little a paranoid :S

heres a picture of the area:

[megcornell]

Have you read the nesting info on the main page?
http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html

Is the female still exhibiting signs of being gravid? If so, I'd just keep putting her in the nest site, the fact that she's digging should be a good sign that she may lay there... Perhaps she'd like the nest site to be a bit warmer? Play with the temps a little.

You can always get her injected with oxytocin from the vet if she's bound but I think that's a last resort.

[squall3773]

Yeah i read the sections on breeding and her laying
she originally was digging into the woodchips
maybe hoping to find something better underneath but there isnt.
So i replaced the area of where she was digging with that container seen above, but ever since then shes stopped digging.
How long can she hold them until it is a serious problem, like: decay, deteriorating or calcification?
How long should i wait to see if she'll lay by herself, until i should take her to a vet? if there are no signs she is sick, for preventive measures.

ill try raising the temperature of the nesting site to 95