Reptile & Amphibian Forums

She laid two eggs the other day in her rubbermaid enlosure.She did not bury them one was on top of the potting soil the other was in her water bowl.I took it upon myself to bury her eggs for her.I burried the eggs lossely side by side in the potting soil mix about three inches deep.I have been regularly misting the spot.The tempertaure should be around 70 degrees.do you think this will work?Also she still appears gravid three days after.
Thank,
Sherman M.

thats not the best situation for your turtle. be warry of egg binding.

as for the eggs, sounds like they are not fertile. if you have a male around or she has mated in the last few years you should try to incubate the eggs. i like 83 84 as a incubation temp but lower temps can work 70 might be too low. an incubator is the best thing you could do for the eggs.

70 degrees is a little on the low side...if I understood correctly, you reburied the eggs in the rubbermaid that the adult lives in: I see a couple of potential problems with that arrangement.
One is that the adult disturbs the nest (bye-bye eggs). The other is that that is a little on the low side temp wise for the adult, too: she ideally should have a temp gradient of 75-85.
Your female is at risk for becoming eggbound because she evidently has not been able to find a suitable nest-site. Eggbinding can be fatal.You need to provide a good nest site for her.
Ideally she should be provided with an outdoor setup that has a bare patch of dirt where she can dig easily. Have you considered buying some concrete blocks and creating a temporary enclosure? 2 blocks tall (the top course overhanging the bottom row by a 1/2 inch on the inside of the enclosure) would do it.
A good 6 inches (deep) of firmly packed soil for her to dig in is a must: loose soil will continually collapse as she digs, and so is not suitable.
Stephanie