Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a common stinkpot adult female, she was with a male last year and apparantly laid eggs for her previous owner. I got her and she hasnt been with a male musk since but I was wondering what the chances of her laying fertile eggs this year and what I should be doing to make sure she has a place to lay her eggs? She is in a 14foot by 20 inch deep kiddy pool with a rock basking arean and I also put a dish in there full of sand just above the level of the water the sand is only about 3 in deep? will this be enough for her? She just seems to use it for basking as of yet? She is in with a male E. Painted and a couple RES... She is very active and is always basking, of all my turts she is the most personable and doesnt shy away when someone comes near... any help would be appriciated, and thanks in advance!

Your setup is the right idea, but I would make the digging area as deep as her carapace is long, many species will dig down that deep by stretching their rear legs into the nest holes. I'd also mix sand and soil and pack it down as hard as you can and moisten it. The mixture should be appealing to them. They also like the hard packed soil because it holds it's shape as they dig (at least for my box turtles).

I'm not sure about sperm retention in musks, but several species can lay fertile eggs years after mating.

Thanks so much for the help... I will go fix the set up now and hope for the best.. now.. if I should end up with eggs, what should I do with them? How do I incubate them? Thanks agian!

The simplest way would be to move them from the nesting spot into a flower pot of similar soil in the same arrangement (don't rotate them) and set them on your porch with a wire or screen cover over them and forget about them for a few months.

Otherwise you could put them into deli cups of vermiculite and find a spot in your house that will stay around 80 degrees and make sure the vermiculite stays moist.

The most complex way is to buy an incubator and use that. I'm trying that this year for the first time, so far I've either left them in a flower pot or in deli cups on my fridge top.

basically you want them warm, humid, and relatively undisturbed (other than making sure they stay humid and warm and occasionally checking on them)

OK I know this post is old now so I hope it gets read... I changed the set up and she did indeed come up on the soil and dig a hole, I watched her for over an hour as she dug and dug, but she didnt lay any eggs??? She left and went back in the water for a while then came back up and "sniffed" around the area and then went back in the water and hasnt offered to dig again?? What did I do wrong?? I know she needs to Lay the eggs if they are in her to avoid problems but I dont know what else to do for her??? Thanks for all the help~!~

they often dig false or test nests. Patience.