Breeding my Sulcata

[abbs]

ok, so i was wondering, for future referrences.....

my sulcata is just a baby... like 3 months old. and later on i want to get her a friend of the opposite gender and have them breed. so my questions are....

how old apart can they be to breed?
and when can they breed?

 

[Tom]

I'm not understanding your first question, but I think you are asking at what age to put them together. It doesn't matter. You can put two 20 year old adults together or you can raise two hatchlings together their whole lives.

I don't have enough breeding experience to answer this one with certainty, so I'll tell you what I've been told by people who do. Its not about age, its about size. Males need to be 16" and females need to be 17-18". This is exactly when my female produced her first small clutch.

The next question is, are you sure you want to breed? There are those out there in the world who think there are already too many sulcatas and you might catch some flack for it. I do not share that opinion. I believe that if you are going to take responsibility for for each and every hatchling you produce the its fine. I believe the same thing about any other tortoise species or any other animal. There are a lot of goats in the world. If you want to put together a herd of goats and produce another 500 a year, I've got no problem with that as long as you make sure they are all taken care of.

Just letting you know, you might get some negative comments about breeding sulcatas, so you can be prepared for it. You've probably got 8-10 years to think about it anyway.

Have you posted pics of your little one? I wanna see!

 

[Missy]

Sorry but I am one of those that are against breeding Sulcata but I wont give you a hard time about it. I just want to ask you to please research what happens to a lot of them when people realize how huge they get. Sulcatas are not easy to keep either because of there strength and digging habits. The rescues are over running with them and people have been known to just release them in the wild (no chance to make it) or have them put down. I agree with Tom if you can make sure they are taken care of that would be ok but realistically how could you do that. You do have a lot of time to think about it so please take the time to do your homework. If you want to do something to help you could look into adopting a Sulcata or 2 or 3

 

[Tom]

Sorry but I am one of those that are against breeding Sulcata but I wont give you a hard time about it. I just want to ask you to please research what happens to a lot of them when people realize how huge they get. Sulcatas are not easy to keep either because of there strength and digging habits. The rescues are over running with them and people have been known to just release them in the wild (no chance to make it) or have them put down. I agree with Tom if you can make sure they are taken care of that would be ok but realistically how could you do that. You do have a lot of time to think about it so please take the time to do your homework. If you want to do something to help you could look into adopting a Sulcata or 2 or 3

Missy, thank you for being tactful and nice in your reply. I've got no problem with people who don't think they should be bred. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I do have a problem with just one statement in your post. Rescues are NOT over-run with them. They see a handful a year and adopt them out pretty quickly. There are several forum members here that have repeatedly stated that they will provide homes for ANY unwanted sulcatas and their phones remain silent. There seems to be a big misconception about this out in the world, so I can't just let it lie. There IS such a problem, from what I've seen and been told about Red-eared sliders and box turtles. Possibly russians too. But not sulcatas. When I see them on Craigslist or anywhere else, they are for sale for hundreds of dollars.

 

[Missy]

Thats great news Tom that rescues are not over-run. I have visited several rescue sites that say sorry not taking Sulcata. Im sure its a location thing. I do think in the near future it will be a HUGE (get it,LOL) problem. Have a great day

 

[abbs]

Thanks Tom, this really helps

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, just like you can't generalize and say ALL rescues are over run with sulcatas, so can you NOT generalize and say that they're NOT. Because, some rescues ARE over run with them. The American Tortoise Rescue in Southern California doesn't take them anymore because they got too many and couldn't find homes for them. Some of the chapters in Southern Calif. of the CTTC are having trouble finding homes for them. It has slowed down here and I don't get as many as I used to, but I had a real hard time finding homes for the ones I did get. Yes, Ed and Tyler have said they'll take them, however, Ed is in Georgia and Tyler is in Arizona. That's not where the abundance is.

Sorry for the OT post in your thread, Abbs. You do what you feel is best for you and your tortoises. Captive breeding DOES help to save the wild population (even though they aren't being imported anymore), and there is a market for them in certain parts of the U.S.

 

[abbs]

I'm not understanding your first question, but I think you are asking at what age to put them together. It doesn't matter. You can put two 20 year old adults together or you can raise two hatchlings together their whole lives.

I don't have enough breeding experience to answer this one with certainty, so I'll tell you what I've been told by people who do. Its not about age, its about size. Males need to be 16" and females need to be 17-18". This is exactly when my female produced her first small clutch.

The next question is, are you sure you want to breed? There are those out there in the world who think there are already too many sulcatas and you might catch some flack for it. I do not share that opinion. I believe that if you are going to take responsibility for for each and every hatchling you produce the its fine. I believe the same thing about any other tortoise species or any other animal. There are a lot of goats in the world. If you want to put together a herd of goats and produce another 500 a year, I've got no problem with that as long as you make sure they are all taken care of.

Just letting you know, you might get some negative comments about breeding sulcatas, so you can be prepared for it. You've probably got 8-10 years to think about it anyway.

Have you posted pics of your little one? I wanna see!

okay, what do you mean by being 18 and 16-17?

 

[Tom]

okay, what do you mean by being 18 and 16-17?

Inches in length. The little " symbol stands for inches and the ' symbol stands for feet. As in, your sulcata could eventually grow to 3' or 36". Each 2" hatchling you produce could grow up to be a 36" monster.

What I've been told AND what my very limited experience has shown me is that males can't produce offspring until they are around 18" and females have to be around 17" minimum. These are generalities. I'm sure somebody somewhere has had them reproduce when they were smaller and others did not get reproduction until they were bigger.

---

Well, just like you can't generalize and say ALL rescues are over run with sulcatas, so can you NOT generalize and say that they're NOT. Because, some rescues ARE over run with them. The American Tortoise Rescue in Southern California doesn't take them anymore because they got too many and couldn't find homes for them. Some of the chapters in Southern Calif. of the CTTC are having trouble finding homes for them. It has slowed down here and I don't get as many as I used to, but I had a real hard time finding homes for the ones I did get. Yes, Ed and Tyler have said they'll take them, however, Ed is in Georgia and Tyler is in Arizona. That's not where the abundance is.

Sorry for the OT post in your thread, Abbs. You do what you feel is best for you and your tortoises. Captive breeding DOES help to save the wild population (even though they aren't being imported anymore), and there is a market for them in certain parts of the U.S.

Good points Yvonne. Agreed.

Question: If so many were not produced, would we start importing again? Of course a few laws banning importation would have to be stricken, but in theory?

 

[abbs]

so is that inches high or long....

 

[PeanutbuttER]

Long. It's easiest to measure them if you can put a ruler or yard stick next to or even under them.