kinnadian Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I've got two RES who are 3 years old. They mated about 6 months ago, and about 2 months ago the female started scratching around and basking a lot more than usual (which I read were typical signs of being pregnant). I attempted to get her to lay, by making a laybox with deep soil and a basking lamp, but she would only try to escape. She continued to scratch for weeks, and I put her into the box for around 4-6 hours at a time, for most days, but to no avail (checked the soil by gently wiping back the topsoil layer to see if it had been disturbed). About a month ago she was outside and managed to climb two ledges and fall into a bucket I was using to grow pond weed. We searched the entire yard (it is fenced off) and house and couldn't find her, until I found her around 3 weeks later after tipping the bucket out. Since finding her, the past week she has been showing no signs of being pregnant. No scratching, normal behaviour, etc. I am wondering if she was faking being pregnant before? I'm not able to gently feel her guts because she tucks her legs in and I'm unable to gently pry them apart to see. Or, alternatively, did she somehow lay her eggs in the bucket and then eat them? There were no shell remains out of the bucket that I could tell. Obviously the expensive option is to take her to a vet and have her x-rayed, which may be my last resort (due to financial issues), but I thought I may ask here if it is possible she was simply faking/pretending to be pregnant before? Is this common behaviour for juvenile turtles just to "practice"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneaky2 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 tryin ta get me head around this one! so she was kept inside AT 3 YEARS OLD? Then you put her outside for some sun and she managed to escape and 3 weeks later you found her in a bucket? assuming the bucket was half full so she couldnt get out? :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 She's been inside for the past 3 years, but I put her outside in a little pen everytime its warm. The bucket was full but she wasn't able to get out for some reason, or just didn't want to get out. It's a confusing situation I know, but the question is essentially if it is in a turtles nature to fake being pregnant just to "practice". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reuben.a Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 can't they absorb the eggs if they aren't comfortable laying? which being in a bucket for 3 weeks would support that idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 She could have laid eggs while on the great escape? When I was breeding red ears we kept them in side and could pick when they were wanting to lay by their scratching behaviour (which could go on for about a week). When they stared scratching with their back legs we moved them to a specal tank with an area for laying which was a mixture of sand and vermiculite over 300mm deep. They are fussy about the moisture and depth of the laying area. Might have thought the back yard was ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotealotl Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 just out of curiosity, what's a red ear turtle worth in $ here in NZ ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 You can get them free fom turtle rescue usually. My brother came over from Queensland when we were breeding them and said they were shot on site over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotealotl Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I was just interested because I can remember in my youth when we went to Italy for holidays, every Monday was a big market and there was always a guy selling red ear turtles and gold fish out of the back of his Fiat Giardiniera. the plastic bags were hanging on the back door. he sold it as 2 turtles, 2 goldfish or one turtle and one goldfish together. a bag did cost less than $5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted January 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 She could have laid eggs while on the great escape? When I was breeding red ears we kept them in side and could pick when they were wanting to lay by their scratching behaviour (which could go on for about a week). When they stared scratching with their back legs we moved them to a specal tank with an area for laying which was a mixture of sand and vermiculite over 300mm deep. They are fussy about the moisture and depth of the laying area. Might have thought the back yard was ideal. It wasn't really a "great escape", we have a little yard set up which is fenced off (no more than about 8m x 12m) with only a few things in. The bucket was inside this yard but we never thought to check a bucket which seemed impractical to climb into. There is just grass and pavement here, no where to dig and lay. I had a laybox but had trouble keeping moisture right. can't they absorb the eggs if they aren't comfortable laying? which being in a bucket for 3 weeks would support that idea I've heard that rumor but I don't know if it is substantiated. just out of curiosity, what's a red ear turtle worth in $ here in NZ ? You can get them from turtle rescue as Alan said, alternatively they are around $50 on TradeMe or $80-$120 from pet shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 They will dig in grass to lay, will lay in water then eat the eggs also. I have seen turtles climb a 1 metre chainlink fence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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