Urgent Care :: When will she lay her eggs?

[iamjasongriffin]

Hi,
I have a 10 yr old female who lives in a 55 gall aquarium, basking pad, uv lights, but no nesting ground in the aquarium . Ive had her since birth and last year she began to try and escape, so i took her outside, she dug a hole and laid her eggs. Wow, I had no idea...Though she was a male. Earlier this year (a couple months ago), i left her out side during the day and she proceeded to dig a hole, but i don't believe she laid eggs. Well, yesterday, I found an egg, 1 1/2" in length, in my aquarium..Oddly enough, she hasn't eaten much, if any, in about a week. I feel more eggs inside her so, I will continue to place her outside for the next day or so hoping she will lay..How long should i wait before taking her to the vet? Thanks

[steve]

Tough to say to when. If you still feel eggs and it's been a few weeks, then I would consider a vet. If there is anything abnormal about the eggs, then I would take her to be seen sooner.

[iamjasongriffin]

Thx Steve,
To be honest with you, I don't believe that I can feel any eggs in front of her rear feet...Could she only have been carrying one egg? Is that normal?

[steve]

She might be holding one if she just laid one. I think they are usually 2 or more.

[iamjasongriffin]

Thanks for the info..The egg looked white, a little soft...Im assuming from being in the water. Im going to place her in this flower bed the next few mornings, before it gets warm outside, and see what happens. I was wondering why she hasn't been eating or swimming. She just lays on the basking pad..I let her roam around in the yard yesterday for a couple hours and she crawled around the whole time. I guess she couldn't find a suitable nest or something...Thanks again for your help.

[steve]

A freshly laid egg will be a bit soft (its got to squeeze through the cloaca). Has she exhibiting nesting behavior before?

[iamjasongriffin]

Yes, last year. I was pretty shocked..She started to try and climb out of the aquarium...The floating pad is really close to the top of the aquarium...I keep the 55 gal aquarium full. So, I let her out one day, in the house...She exits thru the dog door, out side, digs a hole, then leaves it, with no eggs...So i put her back in the aquarium, had to get to work...Next day, I take her out of the aquarium, she exits the dog door, travels about 30 yards down to our goldfish pond, digs a hole, lays eggs, and then covers them up...Probably 3 hours total, to complete this mission..I was impressed. About a months ago, I put her outside in this large flower bed with a dog fence around it. I can't remember exactly what the reason was that I took her out...I really don't take her out unless Im cleaning the aquarium, maybe every 6 months.. So..she dug a hole then, but I don't recall her laying eggs. This time has been different. I let her out in the yard yesterday for a couple hours and no nesting behavior...She just kept walking around the yard. I checked in front of her rear feet yesterday and couldn't feel any lumps...Thought?

[steve]

The eggs could be really small to feel them. I would only let her out when she was showing signs (usually desperately wanting out) and let her roam to find a spot. It's usually in the same area as before... their instincts take over.