Shirley 's mystery muck... What is it?

Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
California
Shirley is a California Desert Tortoise that has been in our family for 40 years. (She was found walking the street...so we have no idea of her age or earlier life.) My grandmother took care of her until she passed away. Then it was my mother until she moved to Washington. Then it was me. I have always made Shirley the priority.
I have a neuro-muscular disease that has been increasingly making life more difficult. I needed to be near family. (My family is small...just my aged mother, brother, nephew, and myself.) All were in Washington state and, for better or worse, Shirl and I moved up with them about 9 months ago. That whole ordeal was discussed on here in another thread. I'm just giving a quick background on the situation.
For the second time (that I am aware of), Shirley has secreted this yellowish, mucus-y looking stuff. Is it pee? Usually her pee is clear. Occasionally it has been similar to this, but all white. Is she sick? Is this pee...or something else?
The reason I ask if it is something else is because in all of the years Shirley has been in my care, she did something I had NEVER seen her do before. She laid eggs.
Shirley is an old girl. Where I lived in California, we had hardpan. Shirley couldn't dig in the ground. When it was too hot outside, she'd come to the sliding glass door, tap on the glass, and want in. She had a string of cardboard boxes as her homes (the "cardboard condos" as I called them).
This spring, she went into this frenzy. All she wanted to do was dig, dig, dig. Back in California all of those years, she would occasionally tear up her boxes. I just thought she was mad about something. I now realize it was her natural impulse to dig...for the laying of eggs.
Neither my mother nor I ever saw any eggs of Shirley's before this year...and my grandmother certainly never mentioned any. In the 40 years with us, Shirley has never laid eggs unless she somehow hid them outside. There were only 5 eggs this year that we are aware of. The first few were deformed. Only two were whole and egg-like.
The first time I saw the yellowish secretions, I thought perhaps it was more undeveloped egg coming out. That was a while ago (weeks). She did it again just a bit ago. It looks like it could be unformed egg glop...but I am more worried about infection or dehydration or SOMETHING that might hurt her. Has anyone ever seen stuff like this before? (I've attached photos, but they aren't great.)20220926_142623.jpg20220926_142536.jpg
Thank you.
 

Maro2Bear

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5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
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14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
Next time you take a picture, place a known object near the questionable image. Maybe a quarter or something similar. Are we looking at a big or small glob of deposit? When i kept chickens, every now and then id get an egg laid like this mess. No shell, just a glop of egg yolk and albumen.
 
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