Hello,
I haven't posted here in a long time, so I guess I'd better introduce myself again. I have a 5-year-old female western painted that I've had since she was a hatchling. She lives in a 55 gallon tank with basking spot, heat and UVB. You can see a photo of her tank at the link below. She is now 7" long. Last August she unexpectedly laid 3 eggs in her tank. I posted here at that time to try to find out if this would happen every year. Everyone was very nice, but I wasn't able to get much information regarding non-mated females laying eggs. August is not the usual breeding season anyway, so I was perplexed.
This spring she stopped eating and laid 3 eggs at the end of May. At least this is the normal time of year to be doing that. Since then, she has laid another 6 eggs, usually 1 at a time every couple of days. I knew that this was not normal (although she is eating well, is active and alert and shows no signs of illness), so I called my vet, who suggested that I provide her with some soil to nest in. I had done this last fall after she laid her eggs (in case she had more), but she just freaked out and showed no interest in it, so I hadn't done it this year. At my vet's advice, I transfered the turtle into a 20 gallon tank with lots of nice soil and a large water dish for soaking. I left her in there overnight. The next morning, there was no sign of any eggs, so I took her out, fed her, and put her back in the nesting tank. She has been tending to lay eggs a few hours after I feed her, so I thought this might stimulate her to nest and lay whatever remaining eggs she had. A few hours later I discovered that she had indeed laid two more eggs -- in the water dish! I gave up and returned her to her big tank. This was last Friday (6/27) and she hasn't laid any more since.
Here's why I'm writing: This morning when I fed her, she ate and ate like normal (she usually has a great appetite) and then vomited up everything she ate. She has never done this before. I returned her to her big tank and she is again swimming around and behaving normally. I offered a bit of soft cuttlebone (I've been giving her quite a bit lately since she's been laying) and she eagerly accepted, but I am afraid to offer her any more food. I am concerned that she still has eggs and tried to fit too much in her stomach - thus the vomiting. I called my vet again this morning but this is her day off, and the other vet I spoke to isn't very knowledgable about turtles. Is is possible for a turtle to simply over-eat and vomit, or am I right to be concerned? This is driving me crazy, so I thought I'd try my luck with you nice folks and see if anyone has any thoughts. Any suggestions are most appreciated! Thanks!
Deena and Touche'
Touche's page
