All Turtles Message Board

brownmc · Level 2 Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 27

Hi all, I am new to the turtle board but have had my turtle for about a year now. Got another little guy a few months ago and everything is going well. My larger turtle (about 5-6 in. shell length) is a girl and I have been reading that they will lay eggs even when not fertile. I also read that if there is no place to lay the eggs they just hold them inside and this can be very bad.

I am making one of those outside the tank basking spots, the kind that sits up and off the side of the tank, and I wanted to make sure that the substrate I used up there could accomadate her laying eggs. I was already planning on using some sort of gravel or dirt so I could put some plants up there for her to hide around ( I am also worried about using gravel because I hear they eat it). Any suggestions on what to do or not to do would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the help

Fred_and_George · Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:09 pm Post subject:

dirt would be the best. if you are taking it from outside, i would leave it in the freezer overnight to kill the bacteria living in it. whatever dirt you use should be clean. dont get the stuff with fertilizer or those little white balls, they arent good. they need dirt/sand to dig in to make a nest, so gravel wouldnt work at all, to hard to dig it. dirt/sand is the way to go. you can also get sand substrates from petstores, now that i think about it. they are in the reptile section, and have some really nice textures and colours. good luck.
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Captain_Turtle · Level 3 Joined: 26 Dec 2004 Posts: 206

I think you should visitHERE for more procedures.
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Horrible turtle owner.

brownmc · Level 2 Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 27

Thanks for the help. That article was very informative and it sounds like I should be using a sand/dirt mix for the substrate. I think I need to make the area a little larger than I had planned on too. Thanks again.