General Care Discussion :: preg. res

[tutlehaven]

Hi, I have a question about my prego res., Voltamort. I am making a nesting area for her but have one question. I want to use spanish moss I got from the trees, we live in south florida and that should be kinda natural. I need to know how to kill the mites in the moss. I was told to buy the mite killer at the pet store, but i want to make sure i get all the mites. I know there is a natural way to do this, i just don't remember how. Any suggestions??
Also, Voltamort is about 2 yrs old and is almost 8in long, with out the curve. I was just told from a reptile guy that the eggs will not be fertile till the turts are at least 4 yrs old. I know that copulation took place, I caught them and took video on my camera. So is she going to lay duds?
Just for kicks I can load up the video of Voltamort and Crush mating. I was soo proud! When I get back home I need to upload a pic I have of Crush's family jewels, I thought that it would be maybe smaller than it was and at least pink. ( sorry for being so graphic but i was surprised ) but I think I must have an African American RES. this thingy was huge and black. it looked like a black hybiscis flower! I thought to myself he's going to hurt her with that thing! is this normal? i'll send a pic later.
Any help for now would be great. sorry so long.

[missibsu]

Black is normal.

Are you planning on keeping the eggs? Just curious what you plan to do with them, etc.

I might think about soaking the moss in diluted bleach water. Rinse it good and lay it in the sun to dry. I don't know if that would be recommended or not. It would mean rinsing it good and making sure it is completely dry.

2 years old and 8 inches long? Is that including the head and tail? That seems a bit big for 2 years old.

[tutlehaven]

yes she is a bit big. in the begining i fed them too many nightcrawlers. found out they were not supposed to grow that fast and cut down alot. i do not know what to do with the eggs. my son in law wanted one but what to do with the others?
8in is just from the bottom front to back no tail. but i guess she is not old enogh to have good eggs even thou they were inseminated.
i did here about the bleach. yes i clean very well so i know to rinse the bleach off good.
thanks!

[missibsu]

I don't know what the chances of survival are for eggs, or even if your eggs would be viable. Wouldn't it be easier for your son in law to just go buy a turtle? It just seems like a lot of work with the thought that it may not even hatch.

[steve]

Her first few eggs are not likely to be the healthiest if they are viable. How old is crush? Is he also 2? They are both pretty young to be sexually mature.

[reptilegrrl]

The best thing to use is vermiculite. You can buy it in small bags at a hardware store, in the garden area.

I know that you like the idea of the moss, but in nature, the moss is not what your turtle would look for to lay eggs. She would look for soft, moist soil, and vermiculite provides that texture. Also, if you use vermiculite, you won't have to worry about mites in the moss.

[steve]

I haven't heard of people using vermiculite for a nest but they do use it for an incubator. For a nest, you can use soil or a 50/50 mixture of sand and organic compost.

[tutlehaven]

thanks all, i am using 50/50 vermiculite, soil. for the incubater i am using just vermiculite. crush is only about 1yr old. he sure loves the ladies though. i have three females and every no and then i have to give the one he is with a break so i will change out the female when ever he gets a little love starved.