Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

It's been a long time since I've posted here. I have a problem, and I was wondering if any of you had any advice.

I'll start by describing Bowser, my RES and her environment and then go into my question. Bowser's a female RES and has never been housed with another turtle. I've had her since she was a hatchling. She's 4 years old now and about 7 inches in shell length. Her tank water is kept at 76 degrees and her basking area is at 85. She also has a UVB light.

Anyway, recently Bowser's been very agitated. While she is normally content and very comfortable around people (often begging at the front of her tank for food), she is now very uneasy. As soon as the sun comes up, she wants out of her tank. When I let her out, she starts digging at the ground with her back legs. She looks like she's really putting a lot of effort into this motion too. She's recently started doing this motion in her tank too. She'll dig and dig in there, underwater. She just squirms there like she's trying to push something out. She also has had a decrease in her appetite. She will eat a little bit, but she won't go crazy over food like she used to before this started. I'm worried about her and I want to do something to help her out.

I'm not sure if she's constipated or possibly carrying eggs. I gently felt her side (right above her left leg) and felt something round and hard there. I don't know if this could be an egg or just one of her internal organs. Anyway, in case her problem is constipation, I've been placing her in a tank (the Rubbermaid container I feed her in) with warm water since I've heard that can help things out. So far, she hasn't responded to that. In case it's eggs, I've tried moving her to a Rubbermaid container with some play sand in it for her to dig in. She just gets upset when I put her in the sand container, however, and only focuses on escape when she's in there.

Is there something else I should try out? Is there a way to know if she's constipated or holding eggs? Also, when would be a good time to take her to a vet? I'm not sure if this is something normal or if this is something that should receive immediate vet attention. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It does sound like she has eggs! They will not be fertile but you need to let her lay them or she will die. Some turtle will lay their eggs in the water if their is no where else, but others will not and get eggbound. You were right about feeling her for eggs, that is the correct way to do it. Do you feel and egg(bump) on both sides?
If you have a backyard, I would build a temporary pen and let her dig a nest outside, maybe leave her outside for a few days, and soak her and feed her during the day. She is going to probably lay her eggs right before it gets dark, so go outside and watch her everynight. Also make sure that the diry is not too dry that she can't dig, maybe try to loosen the soil first. I also think that she would rather lay her eggs in dirt, not sand.
Good luck, Tell me what happens!
If you don't see her lay eggs soon I would definately take her to the vet.

Try providing her a land area inside her tank to dig in and lay eggs. I have set up a basking area for tanks with the following (a 50-50 mix of clean topsoil and peat moss then cover that with an inch or so of playsand. This way when they dig and lay eggs you can pin point the area where the eggs get deposited because there will be topsoil mixed in the the sand at that point.

If she does not lay soon you should take her to a vet and see if the vet might deem it necessary to induce her lay.

Steve

Agitation amd excessive movement, such as constantly trying to climb out of the tank, are often a sign of eggs. I would heed the advice below and provide her with a land area to dig in (outside her tank), although this will not necessarily always induce laying. Old, calcified eggs are somtimes a problem, but turtles usually get them out. If a long time passes, you may need to invest in an X-ray to confirm the condition.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try out your suggestions and I'll let ya know what happens. One more question: How long should I give her before I take her in for an exam?

Thank you so much for all of your help.

From your description she appears quite anxious to lay so if you do not see any thing happening within a day or two of giving her a suitable nesting site. I would take her in for an exam.

Well, after a few days of putting Bowser outside, and after many holes, she finally decided to lay some eggs in her tank. So far, she laid three of them. Two large ones and a small one. She seems much happier after doing that. She finally has her regular appetite back. I think that she might still have an egg in her, because I can still feel a bump on her side. I'm going to keep an eye on her. She laid the other eggs over the period of several hours, so I'll keep an eye on her and see what happens.

Thanks for all of your help.

Yup, she had one more egg. There was a fourth big egg in the tank this morning. No wonder she was so antsy! Its amazing she had room for all of those. 8o I'm just glad that she's feeling better.

How large is the average RES clutch? Bowser's a pretty small- sized female (at the moment) and I was kinda amazed that she could hold that many eggs.