Other Turtle Discussion :: Sadie is gravid, YAY

[theartbook35]

This will be my first time witnessing one of my turtles laying eggs! She has all the typical signs.

My backyard has really loose dirt, so, I may take her there or to the bushes in my side yard. I can't wait, definitely will get my mother to take pictures.

Just wanted to share the news ;D

[sflemin2]

Haha good luck!

[steve]

Good luck!

[theartbook35]

Thank you!

She's more hyper than yesterday, so, I am taking her out tomorrow morning to dig and lay. I would rather have to do it outside, since, I've always suspected she was taken from the wild by her previous owner. I don't think she'd stay in a nesting box, if we put her in a bucket, box or claustrophobic space, she starts freaking out immediately! Besides, she hasn't been outside in the grass and sunshine this season yet.

[Love of Animals]

Try to take her out when she's acting hyper. Good Luck!

[sflemin2]

Nesting boxes don't seem to work usually..let us know how it goes outside!

[theartbook35]

The amount of people on this forum who have had success with nesting boxes, as far as I know, I can count on one hand!

Ty, I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

I tried today to feel above her back knees for the eggs, just so I could get a feel for it, but, she wouldn't let me. She doesn't like it when I hold her, anyways. She'll occasionally walk with her butt high in the air, so, I'd say tomorrow morning she'll be ready to lay. SO EXCITING.

BTW, all of my turtles are females. When Ty and Cane are old enough, I expect a lot of egg laying. Let's just hope I never have them all gravid at the same time, it's not impossible for that to happen!

[theartbook35]

Well...

Took Sadie outside. Put her by a bush. She dug a couple false holes, then got started on one and stayed there for about an hour, digging. Darned if there was some concrete below the dirt, and she couldn't dig deep enough, and abandoned the hole. She's in a bad mood now, cause my yard isn't completely fenced in so I had to grab her as she was heading for sidewalk and road.

I'm going to go downstairs later on, pour a ton of water around that bush and dig up the earth so that it's easier for her. After all that digging a little while ago, I think she's a bit tired. Poor girl!

Figures it would be a cold, rainy day, the morning I have time to take her outside and get her to lay her eggs. And she probably has like two or three eggs too, instead of a couple dozen.

[theartbook35]

Okay, she doesn't seem to be happy with my backyard, so... now I have her in a nesting box, with aspen bedding. She is staying in there, digging a little bit... Hopefully this will work.

[steve]

Good luck! Her first clutch will be the hardest for her.

[theartbook35]

Good luck! Her first clutch will be the hardest for her.

The box just made her super upset. I am going to bring her outside after I get off work tonight. I figure, dark outdoors, fairly quiet, and a ton of sand around that bush, and she'll do it. She likes that area with the slope, and, I know if she could just dig deep enough, she'd lay the eggs there. The new strategy is we are gonna buy some cheap play sand and pour it around that bush. I think she'll appreciate it.

I had a dream last night that she laid 20 eggs and all of them had baby turtles inside and started hatching immediately. They were so cute, too.

I honestly don't know if this is her first clutch or not. We haven't had her, her whole life, we got her from someone else. He got tired of caring for her, and, he wasn't really doing a good job, and I am amazed at how great her shell looked when we first got her. Makes me think she was living in the wild, it really does. RES aren't native to CT anyways!

[sflemin2]

LOL I had dreams like that too when my Sylvie was laying eggs!! hahaha!

Sounds like she is doing good! Mine wouldnt dig AT ALL. I have read it helps to have a warm nesting area.. you might want to see what happens if you stick a basking light somewhere. I hope all your females dont lay eggs! Its so stressful!

Thanks for the updates!

[theartbook35]

Well, Sadie wasn't super ridiculously hyper, just a bit more active than usually. Typically we'd expect our gravid turtles to try to escape and go completely bonkers, but she was just flapping around a lot.

She did some digging, but, she isn't acting gravid enough for me to think she is truly carrying eggs. Plus, I did feel above her knees a little while ago, and I do not feel eggs at all.

It is possible for a female to be false gravid, right? I think we've discussed this on this forum before...

I am going to watch her behavior, and if I think she may be egg bound, I'll hall her off to the vet. She is eating, swimming around, picking up her rocks and seashells, rubbing her butt on her filter, the usual stuff she does. She's a being a typical Sadie!

Weird situation, isn't it?

[steve]

Is she digging with her rear feet?

[theartbook35]

Is she digging with her rear feet?

Not anymore. Just her front feet at this point.

I felt for eggs earlier, and I feel zero, it's all soft and squishy in there, and I felt pretty far into that space. Even if she had a couple, I should still be able to feel them, right?

Just in case I did check her tank to see if she dropped any in the water, which she has not.