Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: RES in distress?

[grannycakes]

Hi, so I have had my red eared slider for over 7 years I believe and this past week she has been acting very frantically. She tries to escape and she scratches one side of her tub while just swimming into it. I don’t know what’s causing this behavior because the only change in her tub is that I added river rocked which I boiled in order to clean and we added some minnows but she gets minnows once a month (not anymore since she isn’t eating them so now we just have fish) I have already tried to build her a nest incase she has to lay eggs but the moment I put her in the soil she freaks out horribly (this is the second attempt a long time ago I made her a nest when she was showing signs of needing to lay eggs) back then she once again didn’t lay eggs and went back to normal but her behavior has been ongoing for a week. One other thing to note is that we did change her filter, but it’s the same exact filter as our last one it had just broke so we replaced it. I appreciate any help and I have already read multiple forums about this, but I still don’t know what could be wrong.. Should I boil the rocks again? Also is it normal for her to not eat live fish? She used to love eating fish but now they co exist.. I wonder if the fish are causing her stress.
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she is in a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub
her water temp is 75°f
she has both heat and UVB bulbs

[steve]

They usually don't like man-made nesting areas. Have you felt for eggs? She might not be interested in the fish if she cannot catch them. If you hold a fish by the tail and let it wiggle in front of her face, would she take it? Is her frantic behavior constant or at certain times of the day?

Don't boil rocks, there is a rare chance that it could explode.

[grannycakes]

I did feel around here legs/tail a little bump like you can feel something round there so I think it’s safe to assume that she really is egg bound... if for whatever reason she doesn’t lay them (I’m gonna keep trying with the nest) do you think there would be anything a vet could do for her to get them out?

[steve]

The spot to feel is the area in front of the rear leg, not the area between the rear leg and tail. When a RES doesn't lay her eggs, she might expel them in the water. If you see a vet, they might administer oxytocin they could encourage her to lay them.

[grannycakes]

I keep trying with the nest but she still won’t calm down.. I think I will ultimately have to take her to the vet because if she doesn’t do something about the eggs it could be fatal right? Also I’m still not even sure if it is eggs but she is showing all the signs..
That vet bill will not be pretty....
PS I forgot to mention that she is a stunted turtle so I am assuming that will unfortunately up her chances of being egg bound

[grannycakes]

sorry to double post**
Would you happen to know how long she can be egg bound for before it’s dangerous? Obviously I am going to handle it right away, but I would like to know because I am gonna have to book an appointment.

[steve]

It's hard to predict because in most cases they will expel them in the water. There are a few RES that have very overactive ovaries and are constantly gravid, that is a far more serious problem for an egg bound turtle. And yes, being egg bound is dangerous but every turtle is different and I don't think there is a defined time of when that would happen.

[grannycakes]

Hello!! Just a little update. I took her to the vet (it was $277) (pain) and she has 9 eggs in her!!! She just wasn’t ready to lay them because she needs more calcium. Thank you so much for all the help!

[steve]

Thanks for the update. Hope she lays them soon!