Ideas for egg laying 2
Sad news:
Dara that offers information of her experience here have died of the accident soon
after then like following kamemi on July 15, 2010. I hope this page will be helpful
for many turtles and their owners forever as proof of Dara's life.
Thank you Dara for nice imformation. I hope you live peacefully in the heaven.
Here is nice picture that Dara's owner she drew to hold a service of Dara.


It's melancholic for the people who keep the turtles at the apartment house that
their egg-laying season comes. We should worry about the influence of the sound
for the downstairs and next doors and what kind of egg-laying place should I make
for them. So I 'd like to divide the experience from our turtle keeping friend,"mama
of Dara"each other here. She is having her turtle,"Dara" lay eggs very well every time
in the outside.

About Dara
A girl of red-eared slider, 11 years old.

Her name "Dara" comes from Japanese
word"darasinaku"that means "loosely"
That is, her name means "You can live
loosely" with feeling of her keeper
who accept and love all of her.
It's very nice name.

Dara began to lay egg 5 years ago.
Her keeper has always taking her to the open space of university in the vicinity
early in the morning when there are no people or dogs or at week end
whenever the sign of her egg laying is felt Since 4 years ago.
She has been actually laid there after she stayed for about 3 hours there.
But in usual open space of university there are lot of obstacles for Dara
because the grass is not cut there this year.
So her keeper decide to change the place and take her to precincts in temple.
It's good place for Dara because neither children nor dogs enter there so much.
They are permitted to enter there by the temple(Though she needed time to
get them understand what turtles often even lay wind eggs.) and pay a gift of money.
Also Buddha is sure to watch and cheer her.
She has already laid six times since May this year and she has laid there 5 times of 6.

By the way, her keeper prepares the bag called "midwife set"to take Dara
to the outside for her egg-laying.
The contents of it are a hat, snack and water for her keeper, Tissue paper,
the books to kill time, water to help Dara to dig up the hole( The water is sprinkled on
her feet little by little so that she should not notice when the ground is too hard.)
Simple chair and umbrella. I bring only a camera and the splay for insect repellent
when I go to the outside with Kamemi. This "midwife set is perfect !

Her keeper said she can't eat snack and can't read the book actually. But I think
their items help to change Troublesome going out for egg-laying to joyful thing like
a picnic. It's very important to devise not to feel the load as possible as we can
in it and feel it joyful so that we keep doing for long time in all things.
But don't lose your loving turtles by enjoying eating or reading too much, please !
Watch your turtle carefully while they act hardly.

Dara's keeper said that she noticed after she observed her laying that Dara laid egg
as soon as she showed the sign of laying if even the condition circumstance for her
is best. She said Dara laid eggs at the day the act of egg-laying began when there were
no problem in circumstance. According to circumstance, it sometimes takes 3-4 days
to lay egg after the sign was shown. It means there are obstacles like something
she doesn't like in circumstance. For example, it annoying because of crows,
the thunderstorm approaches and so on. Her keeper has come to take her the outside
as good environment as possible as and soon as Dara showed her a sign since
she noticed it. She says that she does her best to take her the outside early
in the morning before she goes to work and at the evening after she returned
home from work, though she can't often do so as her convenience,of course.
At the case that Dara seems to not to dig at all though half an hour has passed
after she took her the outside, her keeper gave up and returns home with Dara.
When Dara has the feeling that she lays egg at the day, she sniffs ground in 30
minutes after her keeper left her there, and she lays eggs after begins to dig there.

Turtles in the wild that can choose the their circumstance by themselves freely
may lay egg as soon as they begin to act for egg-laying without spending long time.
like Dara. To our sorry it's impossible to prepare the same circumstance as turtles
in wild have for turtles that keeps as pets because there are many limitations as
convenience of their keepers or houses. But it's keeper's duty to do our best
within our limitation knowing what circumstance our turtles want by observing
them carefully even though we have any limitations, I think..

At the end it's the report of Dara's egg-laying up to now in this summer below.
Her keeper says the interval between the day laid eggs and the day when next
sign appears is shorter than usual. They are 9-13 days.
And the egg laying five times in the same place, the temple made her notice that
Dara was never laid twice at the same place. She avoided the place where she
laid eggs before.It must be turtle's instinct to defend the egg that they laid.
When we saw such an appearance, we are impressed very much and think
tenderly of turtles.

The day when the
sign appeared

The day when
she laid eggs

Number of
eggs

The place she laid eggs and so on

May 3 May 3 3 At the garden of her keeper's parents' house
May 16 May 17 11 At the temple
May 28
June 2
12
At the temple
( Her keeper worried about lack of sunlight and low temperature)
June 12 June 12 8 At the temple
June 21 June 24 9 At the temple (Her keeper was very busy with work.)
July 3
July 4
9
At the temple
(It was downpour at the day the sign appeared)

I wonder if Dara has already finished egg-laying of this summer.
Both Dara & her keeper, you have done good jobs! Take a rest, please!
And thank you very much for good information.

Custom and process of egg laying change by the environment they lived up to now
or their individuality. Turtles won't often accept it even if their keeper wants to try
new method because they have customs recorded in their memories for long time.
Use this information to refer for your device, please.
It's important that you find a unique way suitable to each home and each turtle.
I hope you can find the best way for you and your turtle making it hint and referring
other keeper's ideas.