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Hi all, my female RES seems to be displaying all the symptoms of being gravid - restlessness, not eating, trying to climb out of her tank. I tried to confirm she has eggs, but I have to admit I'm a novice and have no idea if I'm feeling eggs or not. I built a nesting box (rubbermaid container and topsoil) and have tried keeping her in there several hours per day, but instead of digging all she does is try to climb the sides to escape, and each time ends up on her back. I could really use some advice. Worried she will get sick if she can't lay. Thanks for your time!

Is it warm enough to take her outside? Any locations you think you can take her to? RES usually don't like nesting boxes.

Hi, thank you for the reply - yes, I am in Pennsylvania and it has been (mostly) warm enough that she could go outside. Do I put a pen around her, or just follow her around my property? How long should I let her wander before I give up for the day? Thank you for your time

She's going to want to look for dirt, not grass or lawn. So a garden might be suitable.... you can just follow her around while she looks for a spot. And you don't need to do it all day, she should have a preferred time of when and it's usually when she's restless.

Thanks, I really appreciate your time. For the past 3 days she has settled back into her normal routine - eating, basking, no restlessness. Not sure if I should be worried, but I'll keep an eye on here - If she gets very restless again I'll take her outside. Once again, thank you!

If she was gravid, then she might expel the eggs in the water.... even eat them before you get to it. Good luck!

Well, you were right, today she expelled eggs in the water. I see 3 eggs in the tank (which I will remove when she's finished basking), and possibly she may have eaten some, not sure how many eggs they typically lay. Thanks so much for your advice. Despite my best efforts, Chompers decided she could handle this on her own Many thanks.

Thats great she got rid of them that quickly!