General Care Discussion :: Gravid turtle question please help

[lizamarie0686]

its winter here in NNY, so with the help of some people, I introduced oxytocin to the turtle, which I did about a month ago as well, she laid 8 eggs in that clutch, then a month later she became gravid again, and again she laid 8 eggs, but now she is still digging and restless, and I can not feel any eggs inside her, could it be just hormones yet? or could there be more eggs in there i can't feel?


The first time i waiting about 3 weeks before giving her shots, this time i waited only until she had symptoms.

[steve]

How big were her eggs last time, and were you able to feel for them? They could be small right now? How big is she?

[lizamarie0686]

Normal size, this time they were too, She laid 6 the first day and 2 the second day, but now i can't feel anymore but she still acts gravid, not eating climbing all over. Last time her symptoms went away after laying the 8 eggs.

[lizamarie0686]

I really doubt she has any more eggs, buts she digging like mad, maybe she doesn't know she already laid them since I made them come out? Last time i let her go a few weeks and dig everyday until i made them come out. This time i just gave her the oxytocin and she had them, they all looked healthy and normal.

[unclejoe]

Possibly there is a hormone cycle, and since you did it so early she hasn't completely stopped producing hormones so she is still acting like she needs to lay eggs? Can you ask a vet about it? Sort of like a phantom pregnancy in other animals?

[lizamarie0686]

Thats what I'm thinking! The vet is around an hour away and I don't think they are a "herp" vet, I do they they will look at all animals, but I'm not sure if they really know. i want to see if anyone has had experience on here first.

I did one more round of oxytocin nothing, she had contractions, i could see them but no eggs, so Im 99% sure she's egg free, Im just wondering if it hormones that makes her dig, and that they are still in here because she had the eggs so early with out actually digging once.

[unclejoe]

yeah I am suspecting there are some remaining hormones.. When I have seen other animals,, given shots to take them out of "heat" so to speak.. it sometimes takes weeks for their systems to settle down.. Male or Female.. I can't say for sure with reptiles.. But it could be a possibility, since it appears being gravid can take weeks to complete its cycle.. I don't know for sure.. but I would suspect that..

I learned something though.. I didn't realize you can induce egg laying with oxytocin.. Right now I have a baby turtle and have no idea what sex he is.. But I have been a bit worried about what female turtles go through.. its good to know that you can help them along so they don't get impacted..

[steve]

I don't recall seeing turtles wanting to nest and not having eggs. Itll be interesting to see what happens.

[lizamarie0686]

I sat her in a flowerpot sure enough she dug, but it wasn't right for her so she quit. and Yes I'm just about 100 percent sure she doesn't have eggs now. she already laid them. Isn't hormones what makes them nest? not the presence of eggs, I think thats what i read somewhere. If she never nested or even was ready to actually lay and i induced them to come out, would she really know she already had them? I have a few more weeks until spring, hopefully she calms down soon. I really don't have anywhere to put her where she can dig a hole.

Yep oxytocin worked great, within an hour they were out.

[lizamarie0686]

I had to block her basking off, she keeps going above tank and leaping off back into the water, or flipping over trying to escape.

Next year I'm going to do something about it with some dirt in there, how does everyone else do it? and how do you keep the water clean when she's pulling sand or dirt in there all the time?

[lizamarie0686]

Oxytocin appears to override the normal sequence of hormonal events related to nesting, and may not enter into the regulatory feedback of the hypothalamic–pituitary– gonadal axis. As a consequence, a turtle in which oviposition has been induced with oxytocin may still undergo a hormonal cascade and associated nesting behavior at a later time in spite of lacking oviductal eggs.


is what i found so far.

[unclejoe]

I wonder if next year,, if you waited longer and then did the oxytocin if she would settle sooner.. thing is then you are still dealing with all the other issues.. a turtle trying to escape,, banging the glass,, etc.. I want a female RES badly but these issues kind of worry me,, being able to provide them with what they need when they get eggs.. very complicated..

[steve]

Trying to get them to nest indoors has a poor track record. As you described, things have to be *just* right for them.

unclejoe - I'd say it's still pretty rare for single female RES to become gravid. It's the ones with overactive ovaries that scare me.

[unclejoe]

Well I may have been mistaken but I thought I read that even females kept alone will produce eggs. But if I do decide on a RES she won't be alone cause I have Phil..lol I can't decide yet whether I want two.. But if I do I really want a female, so I would have to wait till Phil is much bigger anyway.. Is it hard to introduce turtles when they are sexually mature?

[lizamarie0686]

Yes i think thats what my problem was, I did it as soon as I could tell, the last time i waited a good two weeks, and just got her out everyday to dig on the floor, then did it, and she was perfectly calm the next day. She is swimming in the tank like a lunatic. Im getting married and moving this year, you are welcome to this turtle lol As much as i want her, I might end up having to find a home for her. Its just the "bad" homes that scare me.