Urgent Care :: My male turtle is a FEMALE, and just laid eggs, need help!!!

[baby_bytes]

Ok I've had my turtle for 4 *edit* (I've had my turtle for 5 years) years now ever since it was a baby. When I have taken it to the vet, they told me it was a male.....ok so I work overnight I come back home to check on my turtle and it's 2 friends (2 goldfish) and I see these weird looking rocks. I'm like OMG what is that?!?!?! So my mom and I get the fish net thinggy and take them out and she is like they're eggs, I'm like NO THEY ARE NOT HE'S A MALE!!!! but I get online and start googling red eared slider eggs and they look just the same O_O now I know female turtles can lay eggs without mating, which my turtle has not done. I know this might be a stupid question....will the eggs still hatch?!?!?! Apparently she/he was confused bc I saw one of the eggs had a bite on it....I don't know what to do with them, I left them in the water in a corner where he/she can't get them. So now I really need some advice on what to do, Please! This is a complete shock to me, I thought my Kamekichi (my turtle's name) was a MALE!!! Turned out the vet was wrong Any help please, I don't know what to do

P.S. Would you like me to post pictures of the "eggs"???

[N4784N R4613]

As long as she has not been with a male, the eggs will be unfertile, meaning they will NOT hatch. RES aren't supposed to lay eggs in the water, if they do they will most likely eat them. What is the weather like where you live? If it is warm enough you should take her somewhere where she can lay the rest of her eggs(if she has any left). The next time she needs to lay eggs, you should be able to notice a "mood swing." She will be very agitated, swimming back and forth, trying to get out of the tank, kicking her back feet at her tail, and so on. And then you just need to find her a nice place to lay them. Like I said, without a male, the eggs will NOT hatch.

[baby_bytes]

Well I live in Texas, weather here is really weird, one day it's hot the other is cold. The thing is Kamekichi is ALWAYS moody. She ALWAYS swims back and forth like there is no tomorrow, kicking all over the place, ever since she was a baby, so of course with also thinking that she was a male, I didn't think much of it only that "he" needed a mate and that's why "he" was acting that way. But as I said, she has always been like that. I think she laid 3 eggs, bc one of the eggs was in half and the other one was just bitten. I wouldn't know where to put her since it's still has been cool here with a few hot days the land is still cold and don't want her to get sick bc she is very sensitive; she's gotten colds on me a lot, but is still a healthy little sucker. What should I do with the eggs that are in the water? Do I throw them away? Let the goldfish eat them??? can she continue to lay the eggs if she still has any left in here in the water?!?! will she die??!!?! sorry i'm just really nervous

[N4784N R4613]

Here, go to this link, scroll down, and read the "EGGS" section...

http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html

[TheComputerGremlin]

Calm down, this happens a lot. So, first, remove and throw away any eggs you've found. They are worthless and may cause infection to the water if they are left there.

Next, since it is still too cold out, go buy a rubbermaid container, one that's pretty good sized and pretty deep. Half fill it with a mixture of soil and sand, be sure to remove as many of those sticks that end up in soil. Make sure your little girl can't get out (like escape) and put her in there for a few hours. She should lay the remaining eggs if she has any left. I think a clutch is up to 20 eggs, so she might still be holding some in.

The only way she'll "die" is if she keeps the eggs in her and one breaks. It can cause serious infection. Pick her up and gently feel around her back legs. If it feels like there are grapes there, she's still got eggs in her. If she doesn't lay them after a couple trips to the rubbermaid container, you need to take her to a vet for an x-ray (to verify eggs are still there) and he can induce her to lay the remaining eggs.

This will happen periodically for the rest of her life, so you may want to incorporate a nesting area in your tank setup.

[baby_bytes]

what kind of brand soil do you recommend? i don't want to get one that is bad for her. sorry for all the questions, this is completely new to me since i thought she was a boy lol and big thanks to everyone who responded!!!

[baby_bytes]

Ok, I had to go to sleep because I work at night, well my turtle Kamekichi hasn't laid anymore eggs but I'm still worried. She's only been in the water, she's near the tanks filter because it throws out water and she has her shell under that. Hasn't been moving awhole lot. Just sleeping. Like I stated before, she has always loved swimming, kicking and making so much noise. I guess she's tired from last night??? So I'm going to wait until I come back home tomorrow morning to see if she's laid anymore eggs in the water. If she hasn't I'm definately going to go buy a rubbermaid container to put soil into. If by Monday morning she hasn't laid anymore eggs I'm definitely taking her to the vet that day. Any more advice would be helpful please! Do i still keep on feeding her? This morning she was awfully hungry so i feed her more than usual.....

[TheComputerGremlin]

Don't overfeed, but definitely keep feeding her. Soil, I think just typical planting soil, but it'll have some hard things and sticks in it that you should try to remove. I guess avoid ones with pesticides or other additives. And sand, I think try to get stuff that doesn't clump, maybe some play sand for kids? And don't leave her in for too long and watch her to make sure she isn't eating any of the stuff, but she'll probably have a blast messing around in the container either way. Just watch out very carefully this weekend to make sure she doesn't suddenly turn lethargic or decide to stop eating or anything, one of the eggs may burst and she'll need probably emergency care.

[marisa]

For nesting media, a 50/50 mix of organic compost and sand is recommended. www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Nestsites.htm