Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Young Fannie (eastern female), 293g, 4 1/2" long, 3 1/2" wide (smallish, in other words), has been behaving differently the last two days.
She's been marching around almost constantly, when she's not spending prolonged periods in the pond. I've palped her: felt nothing. Her appetite has been off and she's lost weight from a high of 312g (weighed her the first of the month). In other words, I think she's not mature enough to be reproductively mature but I could be wrong: she was difficult to palpate because of her size but,like I said, I felt no eggs.
This is very different behavior for her: she's young and usually spends more time hiding than the adults do, and I wonedered if any of you might have some suggestions as to what other details I should look for.
If she were bigger/older I would think she was looking for a nesting spot, but, like I said, there are factors that would indicate that that's not the case.
I'm in central VA, this hasn't been a particularly hot summer, but extremely wet; also, I've had her for a year, so she's not looking for a way out of the 750 sq ft enclosure.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
Stephanie

I've been finding her soaking at night, after dark, past her usual bedtime, They usually head for cover before it gets dark, but she's been in the pond at 10:30 PM.

Stephanie

are you sure it's a female? If not, it could be male breeding anxiousness.

Otherwise, is the turtle healthy? Listen to breathing through nostrils, check eyes, look for abscesses. Bring her in for a lukewarm soak, see if she's passing stools okay and isn't constipated...

Definitely female: cloaca close to body, plastron flat, brown eyes, relatively petite hind feet, straighter toenails, even carapace shape is steeper at the rear. Every characteristic points to female.
I'll try the lukewarm soak, although she's been doing alot of that on her own. Maybe she did gorge on something and is impacted, but that doesn't explain the weight loss, or does it?

it could explain it, if she's not eating and only able to pass fluids or something

It's great you notice when your turtles begin to behave differently. It's often the only sign we have that something may be wrong. The weight loss in a young turtle is not normal unless it's a male and he paces a lot. They usually regain their weight once they get over their weeks (or months) of "roaming" in the summer. But a female should steady gain weight. Mine feel like lead bars compared to the males!

Please have a stool sample examined by a vet. She could have worms, or salmonella. Both could cause her to lose weight and make her stay in the water to relieve discomfort. She may also be egg bound. You may not be able to feel the eggs but an xray may show them. Good luck. I hope you will seek the help and all goes well.
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Tess
Kingsnake.com Forum Host

Thanks for the input: she goes to the vet at the beginning of the week.
She has eaten a very small amount of tomato and a very wiggly worm since I last posted on the subject, but I have also seen her gaping a couple of times, and in general she's snubbing foods that she ordinarily can't resist (like blackberries). She will "sniff" at things but then move on, so I'm wondering if her sense of smell is affected.
She had gained weight steadily all spring and summer, and still weighs quite a bit more than she did upon emerging from hibernation.There has been a good amount of shell growth, but she just doesn't have that heft that she did towards the beginning of the month.
I have a good herp vet who treats box turtles regularly, so we'll be checking her out soon, in case she has the beginnings of an infection.
I still think she's on the young side, but we'll look into egg binding, too.
Thanks again.
Stephanie