Breeding beginner friendly?

[RayRay]

I am a new tortoise keeper and have loved seeing the pictures of eggs hatching and the cute little hatchlings.

I was wondering is breeding a good supplementary income?

And how do people sale hatchlings if its illegal?

What's a good species to start with?

And is there a lot of breeders in the USA? I dont want to step on anyone's toes.

 

[dmmj]

you won't be stepping on anyone's toes it's a free market. good income that depends most people do it for the love of it and the money this helps their hobby. Best species that I can't answer sorry.

 

[RayRay]

you won't be stepping on anyone's toes it's a free market. good income that depends most people do it for the love of it and the money this helps their hobby. Best species that I can't answer sorry.

Ok thanks

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Unless you take it on on a very large scale, I don't think you'll get rich selling and raising tortoises.
Best species? In your case....Hot and dry.

 

[RayRay]

Unless you take it on on a very large scale, I don't think you'll get rich selling and raising tortoises.
Best species? In your case....Hot and dry.

I meant it more of would it be something that could help me move out of my parents house?

And what do you mean by the species? I know no tropical ones.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I meant it more of would it be something that could help me move out of my parents house?

And what do you mean by the species? I know no tropical ones.

Florida is very tropical and Redfoot do well here. I was suggesting something that like hot and dry. Like desert tortoises.
There are people that do make a living raising and selling tortoises. Do you have a lot of room outside to make pens, etc?

 

[RayRay]

I live on a family farm but my family only has 1 acre for our house and so does everyone else.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I can see a small production tortoise farm happening on 1/2 or 1/3 acre area. It could work.

 

[RayRay]

would sulcatas fit or would that be to small? I was thinking Russians and sulcatas might be nice to breed.

 

[Lyn W]

How long have you kept torts?

 

[dwright27]

I'm not a breeder, so feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt.

I don't think that breeding torts will help you become financially independent, at least not for a long time. I would think that you would need a lot of money up front, in order to keep your breeding stock happy and healthy. And depending on how many tortoises you have, their care can get quite expensive.

I also don't know what kind of toll the incubators etc will have on the electricity bill, but that might be okay since you are in a climate where you can keep your adults outside.

There is also the waiting for however many weeks/months it takes for eggs to hatch, if they hatch at all. I'm not familiar with the timelines of different species.

I don't think that any responsible breeders of any kind of animal are financially independent without some other form of income. Unless you are breeding hundreds of them in a year maybe, lol. But I think that there are probably better ways to make money out there.

That being said, if you do decide to start breeding, I wish you the best of luck. You have a great source of information in this group. You will receive solid advice here every step of the way.

 

[RayRay]

How long have you kept torts?

I have had one baby sulcata since July 2 I think was the day he arrived.

 

[RayRay]

I'm not a breeder, so feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt.

I don't think that breeding torts will help you become financially independent, at least not for a long time. I would think that you would need a lot of money up front, in order to keep your breeding stock happy and healthy. And depending on how many tortoises you have, their care can get quite expensive.

I also don't know what kind of toll the incubators etc will have on the electricity bill, but that might be okay since you are in a climate where you can keep your adults outside.

There is also the waiting for however many weeks/months it takes for eggs to hatch, if they hatch at all. I'm not familiar with the timelines of different species.

I don't think that any responsible breeders of any kind of animal are financially independent without some other form of income. Unless you are breeding hundreds of them in a year maybe, lol. But I think that there are probably better ways to make money out there.

That being said, if you do decide to start breeding, I wish you the best of luck. You have a great source of information in this group. You will receive solid advice here every step of the way.

Thanks, I do have a.job as a janitor at the local school I was just wondering if itd be enough to make buying a "tiny house" possible.

 

[dmmj]

house? Not very likely

 

[dwright27]

I'm not a good financial person lol I still live at home too. But I know that every breeder of dogs and birds that I've spoken to has said the same thing: they're lucky to break even. Not sure if the same applies to torts but it's quite probable.

There is just so much to consider when getting into breeding that I know that I couldn't do it. But your situation is different, you might be able to do it and thrive. I dunno. Hopefully some more people can weigh in. This is a good topic to discuss!

 

[Tom]

I am a new tortoise keeper and have loved seeing the pictures of eggs hatching and the cute little hatchlings.

I was wondering is breeding a good supplementary income?

And how do people sale hatchlings if its illegal?

What's a good species to start with?

And is there a lot of breeders in the USA? I dont want to step on anyone's toes.

Tortoises should not be bred with the intention of gaining supplemental income in my opinion. To do it right will cost more than you will make.

Tortoises should be bred because you love them and there is a need for the species you want to breed. Breeding russians would be a great idea. There are plenty of people already breeding sulcatas and that need is already met. No need for anyone new to start up.

It is not illegal to sell hatchlings for education or research. Its also not illegal for hobbyists to sell off their excess hatchlings. Its only illegal for commercial operations to be selling chelonians under four inches. These are the federal regs. They sometimes vary state by state.

Any of the Testudo species would be good to start with.

Yes there are a lot of breeders in the US, but I would not worry about that. There are enough customers to go around. If you concentrate on quality over quantity, you will do well.

 

[RayRay]

Ok thanks.

and I do love my tortoise i have and the reason why I wanted to do Russians is because I've seen you and others say they are getting taken from the wild at unsustainable levels, and I just meant the supplementary money as just being better then what I have.

I guess its not really tho. What counts as commercial versus hobbyist?

 

[RayRay]

Tortoises should not be bred with the intention of gaining supplemental income in my opinion. To do it right will cost more than you will make.

Tortoises should be bred because you love them and there is a need for the species you want to breed. Breeding russians would be a great idea. There are plenty of people already breeding sulcatas and that need is already met. No need for anyone new to start up.

It is not illegal to sell hatchlings for education or research. Its also not illegal for hobbyists to sell off their excess hatchlings. Its only illegal for commercial operations to be selling chelonians under four inches. These are the federal regs. They sometimes vary state by state.

Any of the Testudo species would be good to start with.

Yes there are a lot of breeders in the US, but I would not worry about that. There are enough customers to go around. If you concentrate on quality over quantity, you will do well.

If I do decide to breed Russians should I buy wild caught adults since they are going to be here anyways and they wont be as likely to be inbreeding as a smaller gene pool?

And how long would quarantine take for wc to wc breeding? And I have read someone talking about having to euthanize some wc adults they bought because of deseases is that common?

 

[Lyn W]

I have had one baby sulcata since July 2 I think was the day he arrived.

With all due respect Ray, with only a few months experience of keeping a tort under your belt I would wait a good while yet to make sure you at least have the basic of keeping them healthy and happy well and truely nailed before bringing babies into your world. I have had my tort for 18 months and even now after regularly reading, searching and posting here I still have a mountain of things to learn and still find out something new everyday.

You also have to weigh up the costs of all the equipment, incubators, brooders, heated enclosures and heat, uvb sources therefore elec bills as well as back up vets fees, plus the time it takes to look after hatchlings and make sure they are started properly and healthy.

Maybe breeding them is easier than I think and I became a keeper by accident, but if I was going to buy from a breeder I would want to know he was very experienced in tort keeping and knew what he was talking about so that he could give me the correct information. There are people who have bought from breeders who haven't been too well informed and looks to me as if they are just in it for the money which I find sad.

So from one novice to another I think my advice would be to make sure you can walk before you run.

 

[dmmj]

like said before you do it because you have a passion for it not to make money the money is in inconsequential to the passion. that's my thoughts on it. but believe me we need more good breeders out there.