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Last night I noticed my RES wasn't as active as she usually is and barely ate. I thought her tail looked a little thicker than normal where it's connected to the body and her claocal opening looked like it was open wider than usual. I thought maybe she had eggs so I made a nesting site (soil in a large tote) and put her in it. I left her for a couple hours but she didn't lay any eggs. When I put her back in her tank she still wasn't very active and mostly sat at the bottom om her tank. This morning she ate all of her pellets I gave her but she still doesn't swim around as much.

What is going on? Does she have eggs? Is her tail swollen? Is she egg bound? Do I need to take her the vet?
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How big is your turtle?around 6 inches
How long have you had it? 4 years

What is the water temperature?72 degrees
Did you use a thermometer?yes
Are you using a water heater? no
How much water is in there? 3/4 of the way full
Are you using a water conditioner?yes, Big Al's brand
Are you using any filtration?yes, Fluval U4

What is the basking temperature? 90 degrees
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on?yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of?it's one of those floating docks from the store that attaches with a suction cup
Is there a UVB light?yes

What have you been trying to feed it?pellets and I'm starting to feed lettuce every other day
When was the last time your turtle ate?this morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?65 gallon tank
Is the tank near a window?it is across the room from one
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity?it's in my bedroom so I'm occasionally in there

Have you read the Basic Care section?yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations?yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?wasn't eating for a day, not very active

Does she normally lay eggs? Was she exhibiting any of the signs recently? If you look into the cloaca, can you see anything?

She has never layed eggs before. She basks a lot but she has always basked a lot and same with when I walk into the room she swims excitedly to the side of the tank.

And has she recently exhibited any signs of being gravid?

Like I said, she basks a lot and I guess kind of tries to escape from the tank when you walk in the room. She has done this probably since I got her though so I never really thought anything of it. (I also thought she was a he for the first 2 years ) She has never refused food before though.

Here are a few picture I had taken of her tail.

I did my research and found out that lethargy and loss of appetite are signs of RI. Also that it can be caused by Vitamin A deficiency, which is completely possible in my case. For the first 3 years of having my turtle I had fed her pellets everyday because I had been told do so by the people at the store. I had only just found out that she wasn't supposed to have an all meat diet. Could this all be caused by an RI?

If she acts like she wants out only when she sees someone, she's just begging. Her tail does look a bit swollen, though I think those small rocks could be a problem. Not sure if it's RI but I would look at the other problems first.

This is the third day she hasn't eaten and I'm getting really worried. What are some other things it could be? Should I be calling the vet?

Have you tried treats? It's possible there is some impaction, but you would need a vet and an x-ray to be certain.

so she ate last night finally and this morning as well.. shes a little more active but she basks all day! whenever i put her in the nesting site i made she doesn't lay eggs..

here are updated pics of her tail (sorry for the quality)... to me it still looks a little swollen.

She won't want to lay eggs unless she's showing symptoms at that moment. Unless through medication, I don't think you can encourage her to lay any and you'll most likely just stress her out.

What are some possible reasons as to why her tail is swollen? Is that from eggs? Is she egg bound?

Here's another updated picture