Other Turtle Discussion :: Turtle Eggs?

[Mandy G.]

Hi I have three turtles, two about 7 inches long which are girls, and a boy which is 5 inches long. Yesterday I found what seemed to be hard egg pieces in my tank along with some gooey murky clearish/white stuff. I am guessing from what I have read that one of my turtles may have laid an egg or two in the tank and then they ate it, therefore I found the pieces that were left behind. I have tried to feel in front of the back legs to see if one of my turtles still has more eggs but I didn't feel anything. I am not sure if I should put the girl turtles in a place with soil to give them a place to lay any eggs I may have missed when feeling. I have just heard it is bad if they lay them in the water and you do not want them to withhold eggs. Also, how will I know if the eggs are fertile? Do you just have to take care of them like they are fertile and then wait and see?

I will appreciate any advice that you may have.

Thank you so much!

[steve]

The eggs might be small, so you won't feel anything. If she's showing symptoms, it would be great to get her to place where she can try to lay them. If this is her first clutch, the eggs might not be very healthy. And any fertile eggs must be removed from the water immediately.

[Mandy G.]

Thank you for your quick response. Tonight there was another egg laid and I believe eaten unfortunately. Due to the confirmation that at least one of the females is gravid, I have removed one girl turtle to a separate soiled area. This way if any more eggs are laid I know which is gravid and make appropriate arrangements.

[penelope]

Due to the confirmation that at least one of the females is gravid, I have removed one girl turtle to a separate soiled area.

Did you remove the one that is gravid, or are you identifying by process of elimination?
If the non-gravid one gets placed in dirt, she will stress. Likewise, if the gravid one is left in the tank, she will stress.
If you noticed the eggs around the same time each evening, maybe keep your eyes peeled for which female is going psycho around that time - yeah, gravid is the official term, but "psycho" seems to explain it better to me.
It took me a long time to figure this gravid stuff out (like yesterday), but finally realized that it does in fact happen around the same time each day / night.
The time to move the gal to a nest is when she starts showing signs of wanting to get those eggs out (i.e., acting psycho). It's not necessary to "banish" her to dirt if she is acting calm, behavior is unremarkable, she is eating normally etc.
Basically, if her behavior leaves you wondering, "what the heck is up with her?" then it may be time to watch closer for frantic swimming, escape attempts, etc. ...actually, since you have more than one female, odds are the little "egg-layer's" behavior will stand above the crowd.
At that point put her in a nest until she starts walking around and acting like normal (I just learned this yesterday)
Look for eggs afterwards (gently brush away the dirt) - if there are eggs, then she is the culprit
If no eggs, well...check back and we can move on from there
Of course, you could be the lucky recipient of two gravid females at once...same behavior applies.
Best wishes!

[ladybug02124]

My Tina acts a little "crazy" around the beginning of the year, and started laying eggs last winter .
My tank also gets cloudy, she sometimes acts crazy or is super calm.
They also partially eat the eggs, I have never seen her lay them.
I tried hatching one last summer but no dice, I honestly wouldn't even know what to do if they did hatch.

I wish this was not going to be a constant occurance.
She and Ike are in a 55 gallon tank and have a large basking area and cave...... I don't think I'll be taking her out and putting her in dirt!
Is it more likely that the male is eating the eggs or is it the female?

[steve]

Both will eat the eggs. As long as they're together this will be a frequent situation.

[Mandy G.]

Thank you for your responses, they were very helpful. We were working by process of elimination but we will know what to better do next time. We also have not had any more eggs laid in the past couple of days so I believe that they may be done for now.
Thanks again!