Lrodmyre
Member
Hi All,
I have had my male and female Indian Stars since January of 2020. I have rescued turtles for many, many years. These were my first tortoises. My female tortoise laid her first set of 6 eggs on March 12, 2021. She then laid her second set of 6 eggs on February 12, 2022. She laid her third set of eggs on December 12, 2022. She laid 5 eggs.
Okay, this is where I'm concerned. All of a sudden on Sunday, February 5th, 2023 (this last week), she started pacing again like she would before she lays eggs. On Tuesday night, she finally dug her hole, and in the course of about 3 hours, filled it in and walked away. I took her out and soaked her while I went to dig up more eggs. There were none. That's right, none. I tore about the whole egg laying section. There were none.
Now, my concern is she hasn't pooped yet since that episode. I have been soaking her twice a day for at least an hour, and then when I put her back in her vivarium, she tends to go over to her water tray (plastic terracotta 20" tray) and continue to soak. Then she goes to the corner and sleeps. She is eating. I feed her all the veggies, alfalfa leaves, strawberry leaves, plantain leaves, some spring mix once in a while, red clover leaves, dandelions, mustard leaves, kale, etc. They do get more variety in the summer. I give her Mazuri tortoise diet once a week. Yesterday I gave it to her, but really wet it down. I usually give them prickley pears, but only in the summer. I live in MN and to get them mailed, I'm afraid they would be frozen at this time of year. She is usually very regular about pooping. I soak them every other day, and unless she has eggs, she always poops in the water. Like I said, she is eating. I am concerned about her soaking in her tray so much. She does that when she has eggs, and she drinks alot when she has eggs. Actually, that is one of the telltale signs that she has eggs is she stops pooping. When she had eggs in December, she weighed 2,550 grams. After those eggs were laid, she weighed 2,335 grams. She currently weighs 2,493 grams as of today. She is not walking around like she needs to lay eggs.
I'm wondering if it would be okay to take her to the vet and get an xray? I know it will stress her out, but could she have a stuck egg or eggs? I've never seen a turtle or tortoise dig a hole, and take the time to cover it without eggs in it. I watched hundreds of turtles laying eggs, and never had one walk away after burying them without eggs being in the hole. I've seen many turtles start a hole and walk away, but they never cover it. She does that when she does her "test" holes. But this time she took the time to cover them, but no eggs.
Any advice would be appreciated. Sorry so long. Thank you.
I have had my male and female Indian Stars since January of 2020. I have rescued turtles for many, many years. These were my first tortoises. My female tortoise laid her first set of 6 eggs on March 12, 2021. She then laid her second set of 6 eggs on February 12, 2022. She laid her third set of eggs on December 12, 2022. She laid 5 eggs.
Okay, this is where I'm concerned. All of a sudden on Sunday, February 5th, 2023 (this last week), she started pacing again like she would before she lays eggs. On Tuesday night, she finally dug her hole, and in the course of about 3 hours, filled it in and walked away. I took her out and soaked her while I went to dig up more eggs. There were none. That's right, none. I tore about the whole egg laying section. There were none.
Now, my concern is she hasn't pooped yet since that episode. I have been soaking her twice a day for at least an hour, and then when I put her back in her vivarium, she tends to go over to her water tray (plastic terracotta 20" tray) and continue to soak. Then she goes to the corner and sleeps. She is eating. I feed her all the veggies, alfalfa leaves, strawberry leaves, plantain leaves, some spring mix once in a while, red clover leaves, dandelions, mustard leaves, kale, etc. They do get more variety in the summer. I give her Mazuri tortoise diet once a week. Yesterday I gave it to her, but really wet it down. I usually give them prickley pears, but only in the summer. I live in MN and to get them mailed, I'm afraid they would be frozen at this time of year. She is usually very regular about pooping. I soak them every other day, and unless she has eggs, she always poops in the water. Like I said, she is eating. I am concerned about her soaking in her tray so much. She does that when she has eggs, and she drinks alot when she has eggs. Actually, that is one of the telltale signs that she has eggs is she stops pooping. When she had eggs in December, she weighed 2,550 grams. After those eggs were laid, she weighed 2,335 grams. She currently weighs 2,493 grams as of today. She is not walking around like she needs to lay eggs.
I'm wondering if it would be okay to take her to the vet and get an xray? I know it will stress her out, but could she have a stuck egg or eggs? I've never seen a turtle or tortoise dig a hole, and take the time to cover it without eggs in it. I watched hundreds of turtles laying eggs, and never had one walk away after burying them without eggs being in the hole. I've seen many turtles start a hole and walk away, but they never cover it. She does that when she does her "test" holes. But this time she took the time to cover them, but no eggs.
Any advice would be appreciated. Sorry so long. Thank you.
