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My RES looks bloated behind her front legs. She has been like this for a couple of weeks now - is this normal? Is she just fat? I don't feel any eggs and she is not expressing nesting behavior at the moment. She is a 20-22 year old female, weight 1,375 g, seems in good health, plenty of appetite. She was donated to me 3 months ago and I don't know if she has been like this before. Here is a video:

I would observe well. Does she poop ? If not could have a blockage ? Yes front and back area bloated as you state , fat ! There's no pyramiding . Ask previous owner how and what the diet was ? Look's overfeed to me , you may want to use the 2/3's rule for a healthier turtle.
Good read : http://www.redearslider.com/pellets.html

Turtles are aggressive beggars , don't let that get to you ! Better under feeding for slow even growth than having health problems from over feeding. Also at her age protein should only be given to her the most every other day with veggies every day.

Watch for poop , as I said could be a blockage , only x-rays can tell then a Herp Vet is needed.

Ever have turtle's before ? Watch this for finding eggs : https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ho ... ORM=VRDGAR

My first thought was also that she is just fat and she did use to be mostly on pellets. Her diet at the moment is mostly veg and greens and I don't feed her at all every 2nd day. She gets pellets or dried fish only 1-2 times a week, as a special treat mostly. Been keeping her on this lean diet for a month now and last time I saw her poo must have been 2 weeks ago - and she ate it. So it does point to blockage - I will take her to a vet to check. Thanks

Could be eating poop before you see it ? Instead of "what if" I say hopefully a vet that has worked on turtles is a good call. Ask questions and if he/she does not bring up x-rays ask about retained eggs , blockage . Older turtles do carry extra baggage around the legs but I would have a "blood test" for sure to determine septicemia. A Herp Vet is best ! Good luck and keep us posted. That girl look great and has maybe 20 more years in her.

I couldn't tell much from the video, but older RES do seem to have a bit more "baggage". If this is a recent or sudden change, I think a vet visit is a good idea.

I took her to the vet and was told she is in good health. The "bags" are just skin - they detract when she pulls her leg in, the vet said there is nothing to worry about. The vet checked her for eggs and could not feel any and since she is not showing any nesting behavior at the moment we did not feel like and x-ray was needed. She (the turtle that is, not the vet) also graciously gave us a poop sample while on the examination table and it came back with no ova and or parasites.

And here I was fat shaming her publicly on the internet...

Glad to hear it. Was nice of her to empty her bowels before the ride home

Good news ! Give her a good well balanced diet for her age and you will have 20 more years of her companionship.