Change in Behavior

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travisgn

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A little background, I'll try to be brief. I got a pair of torts 6 weeks ago, male and female. I separated them two weeks ago because the male was getting too aggressive. I tried giving him access to her a couple times but he was even more aggressive, and gave her a couple nasty bites, one on the face. So I've decided that they are to be separate permanently.

Okay, so after the separation, the female became much more active. She basks more, she uses multiple hides, etc. Before she usually hid in the same spot, and did so quite a bit. Pretty clearly she was just afraid of the attention she would receive if she came out.

So today I got up and found her pacing one wall furiously, trying to climb out anywhere she could. Never before has she seemed even remotely interested in climbing out. She also ate an unusually small amount of what I fed her. I had to go to class, but when I got home hours later she was still at it. I had been meaning to do a little housekeeping in her enclosure anyway, so I put her in a tub to soak while I cleaned the enclosure, added some fresh substrate (coco coir/sand mix) and wet it down. I replaced all the hides, plants, etc, and finally the water dish with fresh water. When I put her back in she took maybe ten minutes to survey the changes, but then she was right back to pacing and climbing. There have been no other significant changes to her habitat.

I've seen a lot of people on here asking about their tort being less active that usual, but is being more active indicative of anything?

It's only been one day and I feel like I'm being a bit paranoid...

Just to be thorough I thought I'd mention that the male has eaten less than usual the last couple days, also, but that might be due to the fact that I completed his new enclosure this past Sunday (he was in a plastic tote temporarily) and he spends a significant amount of time exploring every nook and cranny of it.

Also, I've been seeing a few gnat or fruit fly-like insects buzzing around the house. Really not very many, but I have seen it mentioned that certain species can make their homes in different kinds of substrate. I considered that perhaps there are insects that are bothering the female, but I haven't seen a greater density of them near the enclosure necessarily, and really not that many of them total.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy post...
Thanks,
Travis
 

dmmj

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Is it possible she is looking for an egg laying site?
 

Yvonne G

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That's what I was thinking too. How deep is your substrate and is she indoors or out?
 

travisgn

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Ah! Of course, that could be it. It has been 4-5 weeks since mating commenced. From what I've read, that's just long enough to start getting eggs. I guess I just had little hope that the mating was successful, it never seemed to be, it was more like a never-ending chase.

I'll make sure she has some options inside the enclosure.

Thanks!

EDIT: She is inside. I live in an apartment. The substrate, I must admit, is not all that deep, about 3-4 inches. I didn't make the walls high enough on the enclosure and have been afraid to add too much substrate for fear of escape. Is this going to be a problem for egg-laying?
 

Yvonne G

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The female wants to dig a pretty deep hole. About twice as deep as her back leg is long. When she's down deep enough, she's almost vertical with her leg stretched down into the hole. I said "almost." Also, the dirt has to hold its shape and not keep falling back into the hole.
 

travisgn

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Well I've done the best I can with what I have. I was going to go get some more supplies but my car battery is dead...

Anyway, I created a much deeper spot in the enclosure that is bounded on all sides but that she can climb into easily, and I temporarily increased the height of the enclosure walls around the spot with some boards I had. She has settled in for the night now, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

According to what I read, I should expect her to lay eggs within a week at this point. I don't think that gives me enough time to order an incubator online (Yes, I should have been more prepared for this *sigh*), so I think I'll check out the Tractor Supply and a local pet shop that I believe carries some. Any suggestions when it comes to incubators?
 

Yvonne G

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I only have experience with the Little Giant Bird Brooder. Has always worked well for me.
 
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