EBT egg-laying question

[DVirginiana]

It's been probably about a year since I've even been on here (since the last time this happened...) but my EBT is laying eggs again and I have a few questions.
I'm not sure how long ago she actually laid the eggs, but I'm guessing it was within the last week. We haven't bred her, so she must still be using stored sperm from two years ago when I got her as a wild rescue/rehab.

I found two eggs that didn't seem to have been fertilized tonight when I had her out. One of my snakes got eggbound earlier in the year, so I'm being a bit paranoid, but what sort of behavior would indicate that in a turtle? Two eggs doesn't seem like an entire clutch, but is it possible since she's not been around a male for two years now? I made an extra large/moist cocofiber mound in case she has to lay any more... She CAN dig in her enclosure normally, but probably not deep enough to be an ideal nesting site.

I had her out tonight and she seems fine; she was walking all around the room and she ate half a pinkie mouse (very rare treat for her) and a nightcrawler because she was begging while the snakes were getting fed. I really can't tell any behavioral differences other than her maybe being a bit more lethargic last week...

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Did she actually dig a nest and deposit the eggs, or did she just lay them on the surface? Three to five eggs is a normal clutch so two could be the entire clutch. As long as she is behaving normally (eating, roaming, ...etc) she should be fine.

 

[DVirginiana]

Did she actually dig a nest and deposit the eggs, or did she just lay them on the surface? Three to five eggs is a normal clutch so two could be the entire clutch. As long as she is behaving normally (eating, roaming, ...etc) she should be fine.

They were mostly buried, but they were in what is also her favorite corner to just sit in, so I imagine they were probably more buried initially since she's been sitting on top of them for at least a day or two. Also, they were in one spot and seemed like they were probably laid at the same time.

Last year she laid about six over the course of a week, and they were all either in her water or on the surface, so this definitely seems a little more normal than that did.

I'll keep an eye on her, but so far she's still active and very hungry.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Usually, when eggs are laid on the surface, the female is just expelling the eggs and they aren't viable. They tend to just expel them here and there, so 2 expelled like that shouldn't be too worrisome. Hope that was helpful!

 

[DVirginiana]

Usually, when eggs are laid on the surface, the female is just expelling the eggs and they aren't viable. They tend to just expel them here and there, so 2 expelled like that shouldn't be too worrisome. Hope that was helpful!

That sounds about right. She had already crushed one of them, and the other was mostly deflated.

I still have two from last year that have been in a spare aquarium that I rigged up as an incubator that seem alright (she had nowhere to lay that clutch, as she was still in a hospital enclosure at that time). I heard they sometimes overwintered, so I'm giving those another month or so since they haven't deflated/rotted yet.