General Care Discussion :: About nesting needs ... and tank plants

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 10:59 pm   About nesting needs ... and tank plants

Is there a recommended protocol for taking a turtle that *might* be gravid outside to give her a shot at nesting? Frequency, time of day, etc.? I didn't really consider the possibility until I started reading some more here and I mean, she is a 5-year-old female turtle. She's never laid an egg that I know of, but she is pretty restless in her tank. Course, the tank's still smaller than ideal, so that could be the reason. No real difference in eating that I've noticed, either more or less.

I'm not sure I could feel for eggs without endangering myself or her, and she's not very handle-able so I know just handling her at all would stress her out, but there's definitely no way I could easily set up a nest box/basking area combo that's accessible from her tank, at least not as we have things configured currently. Fortunately I live in balmy Florida, and have plenty of access to sandy outdoor areas (though I also do worry about her getting away from us in an uncontained open outdoor space, even with supervision ...)

Should I just not panic unless an egg appears? Or should we try to take her outside for awhile every week or so to get her used to it and give her the opportunity to nest if she needs to?


Also would love some recommendations for floating tank plants that she can eat safely. I'm pretty sure I can forage water hyacinth locally if that's safe ... otherwise, is there a good online source for buying plants or do nurseries generally carry appropriate species?
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Post Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2017 12:56 pm   Re: About nesting needs ... and tank plants

Note when she wants to lay eggs, it will probably be the same time of day. I also think that my RES wanted to nest after it rained, when the ground would be softer but that is from a small sample.

There are different types of restlessness. If she is just focused on getting out (ignoring people, or even food) then she might be gravid. If you have a safe place you can have her out of water, then you can try to feel for eggs. Let her walk around and follow her. When she stops, reach over to feel for eggs. They are less "bitey" when out of water.
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Post Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2017 6:25 pm   Re: About nesting needs ... and tank plants

Mind you, we both work second shift, so we're not around/awake much during daylight hours. I was just thinking it might be worthwhile to take her outside for a bit of a walkabout once a week or so in the afternoon -- real sunlight and some dirt to dig in if she needs to. I'm just a bit afraid of her getting away from me since we don't really have a fenced/secure area available. But there's a sizable vacant lot adjacent to his apartment complex ... what is the unladen land speed of a yellow-bellied slider? ;)
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Post Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2017 10:46 pm   Re: About nesting needs ... and tank plants

I would try to find out if she's just aggressively begging or actually gravid because it is a bit stressful for turtle and keeper. If she is gravid and wanting to nest at the moment she is outside, she will look for a suitable spot right away. If YBS are as fast as RES, then she will be very fast and hard to spot in the grass/bushes/flowers/etc, so you need to be close by at all times.
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