Gravid Turtle?

[Cheech77]

My turtle has been sick the last few days. It started with lethargy and not wanting to eat, but she’s been doing better the last two days. She went to the vet on Wednesday. We got the blood work results back today and the vet said the there could be some inflammation causing her issues.

She was doing well today, but then she freaked me out by kicking her back legs and chewing on her front legs today. She’s a five year old Yellow Belly Slider, so she’s at the beginning of her reproductive age. She lives alone in her tank. Here’s a video of what she was doing with her legs. Does it look like she could be gravid? The vet said to bring her back for a barium X-Ray if she gets worse and of course she’s off the next few days and is the only vet in my area that will treat her. My only other option is a vet’s office 2.5 hours a way.

If she is gravid, what can I do to help her and how much time before she’d get really bad if she doesn’t lay her eggs. I think the vet is back on Tuesday.

Is it also possible that she was just stretching her legs? I’m so stressed out over this because it’s not like my cats or dog where we can just go to the veterinary ER. There are not enough reptile vets!

 

[Cheech77]

My turtle has been sick the last few days. It started with lethargy and not wanting to eat, but she’s been doing better the last two days. She went to the vet on Wednesday. We got the blood work results back today and the vet said the there could be some inflammation causing her issues.

She was doing well today, but then she freaked me out by kicking her back legs and chewing on her front legs today. She’s a five year old Yellow Belly Slider, so she’s at the beginning of her reproductive age. She lives alone in her tank. Here’s a video of what she was doing with her legs. Does it look like she could be gravid? The vet said to bring her back for a barium X-Ray if she gets worse and of course she’s off the next few days and is the only vet in my area that will treat her. My only other option is a vet’s office 2.5 hours a way.

If she is gravid, what can I do to help her and how much time before she’d get really bad if she doesn’t lay her eggs. I think the vet is back on Tuesday.

Is it also possible that she was just stretching her legs? I’m so stressed out over this because it’s not like my cats or dog where we can just go to the veterinary ER. There are not enough reptile vets!

Also, if you read the vets records, she notes that there was some redness on her hind legs. Could this be her turtle version of scratching them?

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Females will lay eggs seasonally without a male. This is natural. She's definitely showing signs. Constant pacing, lack of appetite. You don't want her to get egg bound. A whole host of problems there. What you can do is simple; give her substrate to lay them in. An area above the tank with sand or eco earth she can lay them in. If that's not possible, maybe put her in a bin full of it everyday until she lays them. A neat trick you can do is stick your index fingers right in front of her legs. In that pocket in front of her hind legs. You can sometimes feel the eggs.

 

[Markw84]

My turtle has been sick the last few days. It started with lethargy and not wanting to eat, but she’s been doing better the last two days. She went to the vet on Wednesday. We got the blood work results back today and the vet said the there could be some inflammation causing her issues.

She was doing well today, but then she freaked me out by kicking her back legs and chewing on her front legs today. She’s a five year old Yellow Belly Slider, so she’s at the beginning of her reproductive age. She lives alone in her tank. Here’s a video of what she was doing with her legs. Does it look like she could be gravid? The vet said to bring her back for a barium X-Ray if she gets worse and of course she’s off the next few days and is the only vet in my area that will treat her. My only other option is a vet’s office 2.5 hours a way.

If she is gravid, what can I do to help her and how much time before she’d get really bad if she doesn’t lay her eggs. I think the vet is back on Tuesday.

Is it also possible that she was just stretching her legs? I’m so stressed out over this because it’s not like my cats or dog where we can just go to the veterinary ER. There are not enough reptile vets!

If you could keep all your posts and questions in one thread it is much easier to assess your situation and see what has been answered already.

I apologize in advance for being blunt, but want to share my opinion for the best for your turtle.

A Slider should not be housed in a tank. They are active swimmers and that activity and exercise is vital to them. They need a large pond with water at least 2 feet deep (deeper would be much better).

The lighting on your tank seems very poor. Turtles need bright, sunlight-like light. Photoperiod is extremely important to them. The quality of light is also extremely important to the health of a chelonian.

I doubt there are egg issues. Totally the wrong time of year for that. Sliders are pretty well hard-wired to lay eggs May through July. And that would be with exposure to the proper photo periods of the seasons. Your vet seems to know little about turtles. You can easily palpate a slider that size and feel the eggs if there are eggs calcified and near ready to lay. X-rays can certainly show eggs and possible impactions without barium.