General Care Discussion :: RES Wants to lay egg

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 8:22 am   RES Wants to lay egg

Hello,

I am new here, I find this is an informative forum and would like to ask for help.
I have a RES, Ruby, about five years old, 6 inches long.
Ruby laid one egg in our bath tub one day.
After that Ruby eat again.
We think that there should be more eggs, although I couldn't feel one by the side of her hindleg, so we set up a nesting box for her, and put her in. The first two times she climbed out of the box. After several times, each time several hours, she got used to it.
After a week, Ruby laid another egg in the bath tub again (not in the nesting box).
Yesterday She dug and partly covered herself under soil in the nesting box. Although Some people said not to left her overnight, we found that she was so peaceful and we left her overnight while making sure the nearby soil was wet.
This morning, we found that she was completely buried under the soil. We dug her out, she was clam, and there was no egg. But she seemed didn't want to go back to her water tank.
In the afternoon, we put Ruby back into the nesting box after feeding her. At evening, we found that she completely buried herself under the soil.
Were we doing correctly? Should we wait until she climbed up after buried herself? We worried that she may not get enough oxygen, especially if we spray water on top.
Thanks.

Ben
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Post Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:29 am   Re: RES Wants to lay egg

RES are very instinctual and picky about nesting spots. If she can't hold the egg any longer, it will be expelled (into the tub) as opposed to her making a nest for one. If she's burying herself, then she is looking to get away from the temperatures or wants to hide (for various reasons). If there is a health or safety concern, you might want to remove that nesting box. The soil should also be a little damp, not wet.
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steve
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Post Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:37 pm   Re: RES Wants to lay egg

Thanks for the advice.
Yes, so we tried put her in the nesting box at different time of the day as been instructed by your website.
Since one to two months ago, we let her out of her water tank to walk around in the bath tub, she seemed enjoyed it.
We are now in summer, outdoor temperature is about 80 to 90, she is indoor and we keep our airconditioner at about 73 to 77, she should not be too hot or too cold.
Yes, we follow advice to spray the soil to make it damp, we will not make it wet, thanks for your remind.
We recalled that when she came to us five years ago, at one time, we had put her on sand, she also dug hole to cover up herself. That may be because she was not familiar with the environment, but we don't understand why she wants to hide once we give her the nesting box.
We had found some people got used to their RES buried themselves under soil for days, I am not sure whether I should allow mine to do that.
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Post Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 3:33 pm   Re: RES Wants to lay egg

She would show signs of when she wants to nest... so act at that time or before so have a good attempt. Do keep in mind that most RES do not like to nest in a container (I think it just stresses them out), so you might want to try outside if you have a suitable area for her. Some RES might brumate in the dirt, which is something you don't need to happen.
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