Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

My 6-year old female RES has exhibited strange behavior for the last couple weeks. She usually has a healthy appetite (I feed her reptomin sticks, romaine lettuce, rosy red goldfish, and different treats) and she's usually fairly happy with the tank that I have set up.

However, for the past couple weeks she has been very ancy in her tank, clawing at the glass and trying to get out. She actually was able to escape a couple times and I found her in the corner of my room just sitting there. It never seems like she's interested in basking anymore, even she's always done it in the past. She's been waking me up in the morning splashing in the tank and even as I'm typing this I'm cleaning her tank hoping that will calm her down.

Also, her appetite seems to be affected by something in her throat perhaps, because when it seems like she's hungry I give her food but as soon as she takes one bite she kind of chokes on it and then doesn't want to eat anymore, no matter what I give her. I even noticed her choking on a small little goldfish.

Lastly, I've noticed her scratch at her neck and tail every once in a while. I've cleaned her tank several times in the past few weeks, but this has not seemed to please her. As I said, I've had her for 6 years and she's never acted like this before. Any suggestions out there? Could she possibly be sick and if so, is there anything I can do to help her myself or should I take her to a vet or something?

Thanks for your help!

If she's 6" or over, palpate for eggs. Gently insert a finger into the body cavity between the front of the hind legs, and the bridge (the shell that joins the top and bottom shell). You'll want to hold her with her head toward the ceiling, and her tail toward the floor, with one leg pulled out on the side you want to palpate. Tilt her toward that side while you're felling - gently - around in there. If she has eggs, you should feel something like a ping-pong ball or two in there. Then check for the other side. Sort of feel at the one, three, and five o-clock positions on one side, and at the eleven, nine, and seven o-clock positions on the other side.

If she has eggs, you might try setting up a 50 gallon Rubbermaid contianer with several inches of dirt (or finely shredded hardwood mulch or a mix of both) for her to dig in overnight. Put her in the Rubbermaid at dusk, and put her back in her tank when you get up in the morning. Cove at least one end of the container with a towel or blanket so that she feels that she's protected somewhat from everything.

If you don't feel eggs, or she fails to lay eggs in a week or two, you would want to consult a qualified reptile vet.

Katrina

has she ever laid eggs?

females will lay like chickens, I would build her a nesting location for her to get to digging. and if she's never mated, they'll be infertile and you can feed them back to her, lots of good calcium in the eggs.