Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need help!

I am not sure if my turtle is pregnant.
I was told that she was a juvinile but she has been digging like a mad woman in the gravel and im getting the feeling that she is pregnant.

How can i tell if she is or not?????

in reptiles and other egglayers it is called gravid, but we know what you mean when you say pregnant. are you talking about the gravel in the tank? if so she is either looking for food or may be trying to settle in for hibernation. in a pond they would hibernate in the water and may burrow into some dirt or other substrate. they lay their eggs on the land anyways, so she probably wouldnt try to lay the eggs in the tank, especially not in the gravel under the water.

OHH. ok
i wasn't sure.. she is actually in an tank aqarium, i don't think she is looking for food cause i feed her twice a day
i figured i would ask cause i knew they lay their eggs on land but a website i was reading said they could lay their eggs in the water.

One more question what temp. do you recommend for the tank? i try an keep it between 75 to 80.

thats fine. i actually dont heat my water just the heat lamp for basking. 75-80 is fine for them. i assumed it was in an aquarium. you have good filtraion, right?

Yea
I actually adopted him b/c this car dealership was giving them out to people who were looking at cars and someone went to petsmart to see what it needed and it was to expensive for her and she actually left the poor turtle in the parking lot... so when they ask if i wanted her ( im a pushover) they gave me a ten gallon tank (i am buying a bigger one in a couple weeks) a basking lamp, filter and a floating log thingy... so i went yesterday and got a water heater which i haven't had to use yet because the tank is not very big and the lamp raises the temp as is.. i bought a thermometer so i can watch the temp as well. I got info from a couple different sources and i think im doing pretty good. i have never had a turle before so...but im very used to caring for animals since i have 6 cats and two dogs all have been rescues. I just need some direction on the care cause the sites vary so much.. one site says 83 degrees some say 73 some say don't feed reptomin some say yes.. she actually came with reptomin so im not sure if i should continue... there is a lot of contriversey on that food.. just from the message board alone. Also i haven't noticed her basking... i can't tell if she is doing it when im not around or if she isn't doing it at all.. i have read that it causes a lot of damage so i was wonder if you have any sugestions... thank you so much for all your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Teene

reptomin doesnt contain vit D3 which turtles need. some say they get it from the light, however the relatively poor quality of most lights doesnt allow for complete production of all their vit d3 needs. it then needs to be supplemented in the diet. i would rather give the best food then save a couple bucks every few weeks and risk major health problems. i uce nutrifin max turtle gammarus pellets, they are complete diet and small enough for hatchlings to easily eat. how often do you see her bask? they usuakky only bask for a total of a few hours a day. if you are at work or school or just out for lenghty periods you could miss seeing it out basking. you can also check her shell by holding her in both hands with each thumb on the bottom of the shell and each index finger on top. a gentle feel should slightly flex the shell, if it is really soft you need better food and better lighting. i would get new better food and mix the two until you are out of reptomin and then just buy the new stuff. mixing pellets is laso good it gaurantees you get all the good stuff any offer while compensating for what might be missing from one. for temp i would keep on the middle to higher end, higher temps mena better metabolism and better growth.

Thank you very much for you advice and time.. hope you dont mind a million questions but i want to make sure he has everything he needs.. its not his fault there are awful people in the world not willing to give a little.

Thanks again!!