General Care Discussion :: Eggs in the tank

[brooks-dj]

In cleaning my tank this weekend, I notice shell fragments on the bottom of the tank. This is the first time that the one of my turtles has laid an egg. That same day, she laid another egg. I have two different questions that I was hoping someone could help me out with.

1) Are there any negative aspects to the other turtles in the tank eating these eggs? This happened with both eggs that were laid in the tank, both times before I even notice that they were in there. Ultimately I will try to avoid eggs being laid in the tank, but in the even that this does happen, there is no harm in one turtle eating another eggs, right?

2) To give my turtle a place to more comfortably lay her eggs, I filled my old 40g tank with a 50/50 sand-organic compost mix. I have her in there now, but she seems very nervous. She has been trying to get out non-stop. When is the stress of being in a foreign enclosure worse than being gravid in a water-filled tank? This being her first time laying eggs, I dont even know if she has more eggs that she is ready to lay.

In retrospect, all of the warning signs were there about her being gravid. I noticed the behavioral changes, but never drew the connection. I thought that I had more time before I needed to really educate myself. She is not even three years old yet. Now I know. Any suggestions? Thank you for anything that you have to offer.

[penelope]

I can't speak as to whether or not there is a problem with the other turtles eating the eggs (my first thought would be no).
I have heard that a nest is needed, but I cannot say whether or not it is an absolute must.

Like you, I woke up to find some egg shells in the tank. I tried to put her in a nest for a bit, but when she didn't lay more eggs, I put her back in her tank - only to find more eggs several weeks later – so twice she laid them in water.

Attempts to escape are a good sign that she may still be gravid, so it is hard to say if she is frantically trying to get out because she is gravid or because she is in a new environment. Keep in mind that she may not lay all her eggs at once. It may occur over a period of a couple of weeks or months.

After the second round, I started checking for eggs periodically to make sure she wasn’t / didn't get egg bound.
Not a full answer, but hopefully a little more insight than before.

[brooks-dj]

Thank you for the thoughts Penelope. After leaving her in the tank with the dirt for hours, I started to feel bad. She had burried over half of her body, head first, into the dirt and seem exhausted. I removed her from the dirt and put her back into the water. Not 45 minutes later, I walked back into the room and found the other turtles dinning on another egg. So I guess on the positive side, she is not egg bound. That said, how long should I leave her in the dirt with no water to swim in? Would a few hours a day be sufficient?

[steve]

1) None known, though I think a water change will be a good idea.
2) Indoor nests are tricky and usually unsuccessful. First, check to see if she is carrying eggs. Try putting her in the nest when she is exhibiting the signs... like wanting out of the tank. She may do this at the same time of the day, so be observant.

You may want to consider separating her if there is mating going on... males usually become aggressive when they get older.

[brooks-dj]

Thank you for your insights Steve. With indoor nests being generally unsuccessful, is it still something that I should attempt everytime that I suspect that she is gravid. Since she has laid at least 3 eggs in the water, and with the low likelihood of nest success, how concerned should I be about eggbinding? Is giving her a few hours in the nesting area sufficient time when I suspect that she is ready to lay an egg? Thank you for your help.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

You should probably keep trying the nest everytime she gets gravid. Who knows she might actually lay all the eggs at once instead of a couple at a time in the water. That way you dont have to worry. If shes laying the eggs then egg binding is basically none. Usually with egg binding they cant lay any eggs at all. A few hours is fine. I noticed my female while looking for a nesting site would actually push her noses into the soil. Must tell them something cause once mine found the right spot she would start to dig, though she would dig a big hole then not lay just to wait till i put her back in the tank and lay eggs.

[Tokapeli]

are there any obvious symtoms of egg binding? I was pretty sure my turtle was gravid (i think i felt eggs, but im not totally sure), she was showing all the signs, restlessness, climbing on and off her dock etc. Now she seems to be acting normal but hasnt laid any eggs, should i be worried?

[steve]

How long has it been? When my RES couldn't lay eggs (it was winter), she returned to "normal" and expelled her eggs (2) two or three weeks later.

[Tokapeli]

its been about 2-3 weeks, maybe theyre coming soon

[brooks-dj]

I am sure that it varies, but how many eggs are typically laid at one time (be that a day or over the course of a few days)?

[Diamondbacks4Life]

In a normal situation all the eggs are laid all at once but in your situation like most others hey lay 1 or 2 a day and on random days. Usually a female has about 6-10eggs maybe more if the female is larger.

[Boston_Zhao]

I thought res only lay egg in the spring, am I wrong? Mine has laid twice in the backyard, all in the spring. In my area the dirt is frozen in the winter, they can't possibly dig in the ground. Do they have a biological clock that tells them the right season to lay eggs?

[Diamondbacks4Life]

I thought res only lay egg in the spring, am I wrong? Mine has laid twice in the backyard, all in the spring. In my area the dirt is frozen in the winter, they can't possibly dig in the ground. Do they have a biological clock that tells them the right season to lay eggs?

Yes they can tell the difference in seasons but when inside there is no difference in temps and lighting so they have no idea of telling its winter right now. To them its just summer everyday.

[Tokapeli]

finally some eggs in the tank! I was getting pretty worried, like i said earlier in the thread she has been showing signs of being gravid for a while, restless, not eating etc. For the last few days i noticed her doing weird things with her back legs so I figured It would come soon, and this morning I woke up to a pretty good mess in the tank. And i just spent about half of my day on sunday getting the tank spotless too, so i think she waited just to piss me off lol. So I spent my morning cleaning the tank again (quite a job after she layed eggs, the water was basically opaque). After getting her back in there she seems totally back to normal, and she had quite an appetite as well. I think she layed about 6-7 eggs, but she was chompin them down pretty fast so its hard to tell. - Which reminds me, can broken shell fragments cause impaction?

[steve]

What a relief! There may be a few more eggs coming. They really do know how to spoil a clean tank!

No worries from the shells... they're actually pretty soft when they are laid (it helps leave the cloaca that way).