Ornate Box Turtle Project

[turtledan77]

So I recently acquired a pair of breeding ornate box turtles off of craigslist for just $200 (good deal right?) They are 7 years old and I have been told that the female just laid eggs for the first time this year. They are mating regularly already. My questions are:

1) How often will the female lay eggs?
2) Anything special I need to know when it comes to breeding these?

 

[Yvonne G]

Normally they will only lay one clutch each spring, but sometimes there may be a second clutch.

 

[turtledan77]

I guess I'll cross my fingers for that second clutch. The first one came in early May...

 

[Pameladale]

My ornate just laid her second clutch yesterday 4 weeks and a day after her first so theres hope!

 

[Saleama]

We get around 4 - 5 babies from our Ornata female each year. I am not sure what the clutch size is (we let them hatch naturally) but I think she lays more than one each year based on where we find the babies.

 

[Saleama]

Oh, and I paid $150 for three baby ornates so I would say $200 for a proven pair is a pretty good deal even if you have to wait another year for her to lay.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Mating regularly already? Oh, dear. Please watch to make sure she's not getting pestered too much. In the wild, they'd mate once and move on. In captivity, it can be very stressful to the female. There's a reason a 1:1 ratio is not recommended... So now you have permission to get a bunch more females.

 

[Ferretinmyshoes]

I agree with getting more females! The males will pester the females so much. I have 1 male with 4 females right now to help spread the love. But recently the male went on an adventure through the neighbor's yard (found him) but while he was gone all the girls were so much more visible! They were coming out and hanging out much more than usual when he was away. I didn't realize that even with a 1:4 ratio they were still hiding from him and trying to avoid his attention. In the spring especially the males can be relentless. 1:1 is going to stress out your female, and reduce your breeding success because of it.