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I just discovered this forum tonight, so please bear with me. My RES is nine years old. She came with the house I bought a year and a half ago. I have a 1500 gallon pond in my backyard, which is where she spends most of her time. This past week, she has started wandering around my backyard, and down the entire side of my house. She didn’t do this last year. Is it because she wants to find a place to lay her eggs? I have no knowledge on this topic at all. Any advice would be much appreciated.

It's possible, what else does she do besides wander? How long does she do it for?

She just started this last week. She’s normally in or around the pond, or on the patio, which is close to the pond. In the past few days, I have found her way out in my backyard, which is artificial grass. I found her along the side of my house, which is gravel. Today I found her in the middle of the little bridge that crosses the pond. She’s never been there before that I know of. The only other time I’ve ever found her away from the pond was early last fall, when we had a huge rain storm here in Vegas. The pond overflowed up onto the patio. The next morning, I found her all the way down the side of the house, clawing at the gate, which is metal. I picked her up and put her back in the pond, where she’s been ever since.

If you're comfortable with handling her, then you can gently feel for eggs. If she is gravid and can't find a place to lay them, they might be expelled into the water.

I wouldn't know what I was feeling for. I have a friend who can do it, tho. Thx.