Breeding Sri Lankan Star to Indian Star

[Ferretinmyshoes]

What are the thoughts on this? I know the Sri Lankan and Indian Stars are the same species but I assume that it is preferred to keep the locales separate? I was just curious how people feel about it since I haven't seen anything posted about it. Discuss!

 

[Tom]

Please keep different "lines" of tortoises separate and pure as much as possible. Redfoots and leopards are a mess because people just mix and match any old tortoise and have done so for decades. Indian stars and Sri Lankan stars are really in pretty good shape as far as this is concerned. I vote we keep it that way. Only breed Indians to Indians and Sri Lankans to Sri Lankans.

 

[Ferretinmyshoes]

I was not considering breeding a sri lankan to an indian myself. I just thought it was interesting that I did not see anything about it anywhere. I figured that would be somewhat of a hot topic, like the locales of panther chameleons. Thank you for chiming in! I assume this is how everyone feels about it?

Since they're so similar is there any way to really tell if someone has interbred? I got mine as a Sri Lankan, but not directly from the breeder so I worry that if he's mislabeled I might muck something up later when I'm looking for a female companion for him. I think they should be kept separate as well.

 

[Ansh]

This is something I have wondered as well.

I got my stars from the most reputable breeder in the UK but even he can't say for sure if these are Indian or Sri Lankan. Going by the size and colour of the parents we've just assumed they are Sri Lankan.

 

[AustinASU]

Yeah i'd say a heck no, mainly because it's already hard enough to find pure strain sri lankins because people have mixed them so much.

 

[tortadise]

Yeah keeping them pure is always best. The only way to truly know is by size. Some Sri Lankens looks identical to Indians pattern wise. Sri Lankens will get much larger than Indians. Females tend to go up to 14" and 4-5 pounds. Indians will stay around 3 pounds+ and 11-12".

 

[teamaries]

I have a different take. Hobbyist breeders are just trying to get husbandry so refined that the animals breed. No wild population will be reintroduced because of some random animals bred in captivity. As far as we know, Sri Lankan stars and Indians have the same DNA. Breed away and make wild populations safer from collecting for pets. Habitat protection is what will protect the wild strains.

Locality collected animals in zoological parks or in collected in native lands for local breeding and reintroduction efforts are obviously different. Their identity is "known" and they do warrant more precise breeding. Likewise, very rare torts may be part of captivity based studbooks to reduce inbreeding.

However, animals in the hobby are effectively removed from the wild. Many breeders can't be sure of the origin of their stock. If you have one of each then I support efforts to breed. Along the way you'll learn about your animals, their diet, TDSD, geography, etc etc. if you have success and want to specialize in some specific location, you'll need the 5-10 years of experience just to feel comfortable assembling your breeding group of locality specific animals.