ALDABRA TORTOISE BREEDER

[hettisurmail]

How many babies do you get a year?

 

[GingerLove]

What a great question!!!!!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

great question!!!!!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

How many babies do you get a year?

~ Varies

 

[GingerLove]

Is it usually in the twenties?

 

[ben awes]

When I bred my single leopard tortoise she would lay 8-12 eggs 4-5 times a year. That's a possible 50 babies. My hatch rates were low, but Gregs a pro. He's got several females laying multiple clutches a year in ideal conditions. I don't know how many female breeders he has (that's somewhere on these pages) but even if you assume a low hatch rate he's got to be getting well over 100/year, maybe 200, maybe more. Obviously Greg knows what he's doing and provides great care for those animals AND their eggs!

 

[GingerLove]

When I bred my single leopard tortoise she would lay 8-12 eggs 4-5 times a year. That's a possible 50 babies. My hatch rates were low, but Gregs a pro. He's got several females laying multiple clutches a year in ideal conditions. I don't know how many female breeders he has (that's somewhere on these pages) but even if you assume a low hatch rate he's got to be getting well over 100/year, maybe 200, maybe more. Obviously Greg knows what he's doing and provides great care for those animals AND their eggs!

Wow, that's a lot of eggs! I honestly didn't know what was a low rate or a high rate for egg laying. I just noticed the picture had about 23 hatchlings, so I wondered if that was usual. I can't imagine having hundreds of baby tortoises in a year! That is amazing!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

having hundreds of baby tortoises in a year! That is amazing!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

hatchlings // amazing!

~ Our fertility is usually high in the majority of our females, however at times it can be low, usually we see a decrease in fertility in a females third, etc. clutches.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I just noticed the picture had about 23 hatchlings, so I wondered if that was usual.

~ That is two clutches that hatched within days apart.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

several females laying multiple clutches a year

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Is it usually in the twenties?

~ Our large clutches have been between 19 and 21 eggs.

 

[GingerLove]

That is so cool!!!! Thank you for all the info and pics! They are SO cute! I can't believe how fast they grow!!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

how fast they grow!!

~ They hatch out at 2.5" and usually are 3" at thirty days old.

 

[Pearly]

~ They hatch out at 2.5" and usually are 3" at thirty days old.

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Precious!!!!! So are they all born brown and turn black later?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

brown and turn black later?

~ Yes

 

[hettisurmail]

How long do they live?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

~ Yes

~ Ours all do, in the wild they are darker when they clamber from the nest and are generally older at that point.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

How long do they live?

I have read many of opinions, however unsure what the oldest living giant tortoise actually is, Galapagos or Aldabra.

We have many that for sure exceed 100.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

06-14-2017
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