Other Turtle Discussion :: A boy, and a girl?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I was inspecting my turtles today and i noticed that Turtle 1, is starting grow these realy long nails and his tail is much more longer than that of turtle 2's. Turtle 2 has short claws and a short stubby tail. They both just hit 3 inches a few weeks ago (they went through a growth spurt) I know that technically it is a little too early to tell whether or not they are both female, male, or one of each.

But, is it possible for them show early signs of what they might be in the future? I'm hoping for two boys..

[SpotsMama]

Sounds like little 1 is a male. Little 2 is either a slower developing male or a female. I don't know how you could tell at this point.

[steve]

Why 2 boys? Smaller space requirements and no nesting areas? Fighting might be a real issue...

[xsavingsaturdayx]

The whole "egg" thing kind of scares me. I would be paranoid about having an egg bound female and the possibility of losing one of them. Ever since i saw that episode of e-vet interns about that egg bound YBS. Things havent been the same.

If they start to get aggressive i will seperate them, no doubt about that. If i end up getting two females, two males, or one of each..of course I will still take care of them and meet their needs, no matter what.

[industrial_girl_2000]

oooooo, good luck & keep us posted! I think the next 6 months will be very telling......

[DavidY]

Congratulations Eddie! You may very well be on your way to becoming a breeder!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Naw, i wouldnt want to breed RES. There are already too many of them out there! Plus..housing a dozen little green turtles isnt exactly "easy" and "cheap". I would realy be broke by then..especially if no one buys my turtles.

[DavidY]

So true!

[Rocky YBS]

its not bad too have a female and a male.
i know you are not saying it is.
im going to be a breeder my YBS and my map turtle.
if people will not buy my baby turtles i will make a jenerouse donation to the pet store.
it would be good for them to have more animals... better animals, it would be thier first reptiles.
im sure they will be happy.
and ofcourse i will keep one.
as for the egg thing, im quite scared too.
i will succeed.

[DavidY]

How much do they sell for over there? Maybe they're more difficult to find because they're non-native in the UK (are there any established wild populations there?)

[Rocky YBS]

sorry david, i eddited some bits.
everyone, davids post goes under mine.
soz!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Make sure the pet store knows their way around turtles. They have been known to give bad advice and often make it seem "easy" to take care of a turtle. I would be very picky in what store my turtles landed in. Though, i would rather give them away to a good home rather than giving it to someone so that they could make a quick buck, i also dont think pet stores need THAT many animals. I'm sure that they already have their hands full. Taking care of animals isnt easy. But thats just me.

But can someone realy make a living out of being a turtle breeder? Or is it just a little side job to score a few bucks here and there?

[Rocky YBS]

i think it is great to give some baby turts a loving place to live and a life to live.
i never do things like that for the money, i do it because a life without turts is just simply horrible.
if turts would not breed then they would be extinct.
i love turts so i just want to give babies a shot at life.
it would be a great experience to be a breeder.
im sure people agree.
the pet store know plenty about turts and thier needs.
i even ask them for advice and they allway fill me full of ideas, so no worries there.
it would be cool for them to have thier first reptiles.
the store owner has turts too and we have discussions about them.
i think he would love to have turts in the store.
more people would want to visit the store too.

[DavidY]

Breeding any kind of animal is usually a labor of love (that means there's no profit involved). Unless you have a really large scale breeding facility with a lot of wholesalers ready to buy your animals in large quantities, you'll be extremely lucky if you can break even. When you consider all the cost of initial equipment, electricity, food, supplies, vet bills, time, etc, it get's very expensive. My breeding projects barely cover the cost of food and supplies alone. I've only recently made back the money I originally spent on my breeders. If I am able to continue successfully, I should be able to get to the point where it will also cover my utility expenses and maybe a very tiny portion of my time. At the end of every season I seriously reconsider whether to stop breeding completely. But I do love the excitement of seeing new eggs being laid and then the hatchlings growing up. But Bearded Dragons are much easier to sell than RES are, and they are a lot easier for beginners to care for too.

Anyway, it sounds like you may have a pretty good relationship going with your local pet store and if you do breed your turtles, you could probably play a big role in making sure the potential buyers are aware of what is required (you could write up your own caresheet for the pet store to display and hand out).

But breeding RES as a hobby can be an irresponsible act if you do not already have a good market for them. Around here, they are sold by the bucket full in flea markets or in dirty shops and overcrowded conditions. And the people who sell them know next to nothing about how to take care of them so the people who wind up buying them have no idea what they're getting into. Inevitably the poor turtle ends up in a terrible living condition or gets sick and dies. Not a good life for such a wonderful little animal.

Turtles do breed and in the wild they thrive very well on their own. Too well actually as they have been illegally introduced into many areas and have outcompeted the local fauna. So there is really no need for humans to be breeding them anymore, at least not in the numbers they are being bred at now. That's here in the US and primarily with the RES. The situation sounds like it may be better in the UK.

[Rocky YBS]

yeah.
because i live over in germany now, the shops are realy clean and well ordered.
i know the shops over at other places are clean, i have herard some things about the flea market.....anyhoo, yeah turtles do breed realy well by themselves but i was just sayin that if they didnt breed then , turtles would become extinct.
i dont realy want to breed them, but i dont want to seperate them either, so if the female does get gravid than im not gunna let the eggs die right?