Femal RES egg dilema!!!

[Scouse_Mouse]

I have a female RES - lives in an indoor pond, with a floatiing basking area, which aqlso provides he UV. Getting to the point, I think I can feel eggs inside her, at the side of her legs.

My questions are:

How can i be sure she has eggs?
How do i provide somewhere for her to lay them?
living in a pond which is free standing I have no where to place soil/sand etc for her to dig, can this be done another way?

Hope i have made myself clear...thanks in advance for your help

[Graham]

How can i be sure she has eggs?

If you're not sure after palpating, then all you can do is wait and see if she lays, or take her to the vet for a X-ray.

How do i provide somewhere for her to lay them?
living in a pond which is free standing I have no where to place soil/sand etc for her to dig, can this be done another way?

Create an island by standing a tub filled with sand in the middle of the pond, with a ramp of some sort so she can climb out easily.

How old is she BTW, and do you have a male as well, is it likely the eggs will be fertile?

[Scouse_Mouse]

I rescued her so her exact age is unknown - she is between 15 and 20 years old.

She was housed with two others, a male and female, for about 2 months, so there is a chance they may be fertile.

if she does lay eggs will it be easy to spot?

also will play sand be okay to use?

[Graham]

Damp (not waterlogged) playsand should be fine, it needs to be quite deep, at least half her body length. If she lays in the sand you should have no trouble spotting where she has been digging, you could use a mix of sand and soil then cover it with an inch of plain sand, that way it'll be very obvious if she digs a nest as you'll see the colour change.

[Scouse_Mouse]

How big doe the tub have to be, she is 7 inches +. the tub I have is 11 inches across is that big enough?

[XoxOriptideOxoX]

i would go 4 big, but not massive,. i hear they lay a lot of eggs

[Scouse_Mouse]

All i have is an 11 inch bucket!

[XoxOriptideOxoX]

Originally Posted by Scouse_Mouse

All i have is an 11 inch bucket!

how deep is it? can we get a pic of the pond?

[Scouse_Mouse]

Ill go take a pic...

[Scouse_Mouse]

Here goes, please be kind....