Pregnant box turtle?

Question

My box turtle has 3 eggs in her. She laid one in her tank about 14 weeks ago and then I waited 3 weeks before taking her to the vet. Xrays showed 3 eggs and she was given oxytocin. Oxytocin has worked for her in the past (5 or 7 times). but after repeated trips back to the vet for more shots of oxytocin (up to the max allowed) she did not give up the eggs.
She did act like she wanted to. you know how they kind of do something that looks like Ti-chi (sp? ) when they want to lay an egg. the vet followed up with many phone calls and suggestions of how I might improve her habitat because he was certain that it was a husbandry issue. So I followed all of his advice including soaking in water, lots of direct sunlight in my back yard, in soft potting soil, increasing the temp in her tank to at least 90.... But no eggs yet. Should I take her back for more oxyticin? She'd always laid eggs indoors ( tank, closet, floor). I have had her for over 25 years.

Answer 1

What kind of Box Turtle? The care suggestions do not sound right for most species of box turtle.

If your turtle needs meds to lay, I would be taking a more aggressive approach- something is seriously messed up here.

For example- if the turtle has access to a male, I would stop it. If the turtle has not been allowed to hibernate (and you want eggs) I would hibernate it. If the eggs are usually laid in places other than nests, it is badly stressed and that needs to be addressed.

A common problem for Eastern Box Turtles is dehydration, and soaks alone do not really help- they need a high humidity hide with at least 90% humidity in it. It sounds like your turtle is running loose in the house- which is generally not the best habitat for them- wrong temps, wrong humidity, etc.

What is the turtle's diet? Poor diets, such as those often suggested that are high on vegetation and fruit cause lots fo problems for these mostly insect-eating species.

I think I would rethink things from top to bottom to find the glitches and correct them, and try a second opinion from another vet for the retained eggs.

Answer 2

Hmm... this is scary because I saw something about this on a show on Animal Planet. They ended up having to do surgery on the tortoise to remove the eggs she couldn't pass. Some of them were very calcified. Well surgery on turtles is very dangerous and the tortoise didn't live. Other than what the vet has told you there is probably not much else you can do but pray that she lays them. I think this is a common problem for pet turtles because they don't have the same things in captivity that they would in the wild. Good luck, I hope she can lay soon!

Answer 3

This is serious. It means something is wrong with your turtle, and she is inable to lay the eggs. Apparently as I can tell, you would need major surgery, for if that turtle hatches, she dies. Sadly, the surgery would be life threatening. You might have seen On Grey's anatomy, someone couldn't get the baby out of her, same deal. If you need ino on what will happen on surgery, please give a IM or mail.

Answer 4

i think you need to call a vet and ask them about it