At my school, we have a turtle. The turtle was brought in by a student and is in a large pond. She's 10-12 inches long. Unfortunately, the turtle was never provided with a proper basking area but she has learned to climb up to the filter box and basks there often.
Today, while we were cleaning the pond, I noticed something concerning. Between her hind legs and tail, there was a hard mass. It doesn't appear to be a tumor, but I know females can be carrying eggs even without the presence of a male. I'm concerned that if she does have the eggs, she won't try to lay them as she has no where to lay them. The pond is in a green house and there is no sand around.
How do I know for sure? My turtle is a male and much, much smaller than this turtle so I don't really have any experience with females.
