Urgent Care :: What is Taking sooo Long?

[taquitomalito]

I made a nesting site for my slider and it dug a hole but never laid any eggs. and i'm pretty sure she's pregnant. she is showing all the signs, but i'm afraid to check for eggs. but she sat in the same hole for 3 hours. and then she moved and then sat back in it for 2 hours! whats going on. is she pregnant or is she just showing the signs. she still eaats like crazy! but i was really hopping she would have some eggs! please help me out!

[SpotsMama]

My guy's a male so I don't have first hand experience, but I've seen on here that it can take hours and hours. What's more, especially the first time layers can have multiple false starts. They'll be restless, maybe even dig holes, then seem to lose interest. This can happen day after day. Then, the stars line up just right and they lay their eggs. I think the more experienced turtle moms are a bit more predictable.

I think if she's digging holes, she's gravid. On the other hand, if she's still eating, she may not be totally ready to lay. I've also heard that they lose their appetites just before laying.

I've also seen a couple of instances where the turtle actually laid eggs but their keepers didn't think they had because they couldn't see the eggs. When people on the forum told them to go back and look again - and poke around in the dirt - they discovered the eggs were there all along. You might try that too.

[taquitomalito]

Thanks that really makes me feel better! that really helped! so is five hours a day good enough? or should i let her sit in the nest longer.

[steve]

Your turtle might have a preference as to when and where she wants to lay eggs. Is she digging the holes with her hind legs?

[taquitomalito]

wel... she digs and little hole hole with her front legs, then she turns around
digs with her hind legs, a deeper hole.