Turtles and other reptiles don't always breed successfully in captivity. But if you love turtles and are up for a challenge, you can try breeding turtles yourself. Check out these steps to help breed your turtle.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Preparing the Turtles to Breed
Step 1. Make sure you have a male and female turtle
Usually male turtles are more colorful and agile than females. Males have a flat or concave plastron (bottom shell), and females have a flat or convex plastron, which has sufficient space for eggs.
- Among water turtles, size is a good indicator: males are smaller than females. Males also have long claws on their forelegs.
- In box turtles, males generally have larger, fatter tails and a cloaca that is further away from the shell than females.
Step 2. Make sure your turtle is sexually mature
Turtles will not be able to reproduce until they reach sexual maturity. In water turtles, males must be at least three years old, while females are at least 5 years old. Neither male nor female box turtles will breed until they are at least 5 years old.
Don't plan on breeding the turtles you just got. Wait at least a year
Step 3. Cool your tortoise
To increase the chances of successful breeding, it is recommended to refrigerate your tortoise. Nesting season usually occurs from March to June, so a cooling period should occur between January to February for water turtles and December to February for box turtles.
- Keep the turtle's temperature between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius for six to eight weeks for water turtles and 8 to 12 weeks for box turtles.
- Leave the tortoise alone in this period. You can give them food, but they will eat little or nothing.
- If the turtles live in an outdoor pond, you can take advantage of the cold winter air and let them hibernate.
- After the cooling period is over, return the turtle's habitat to its normal temperature.
Step 4. Feed the turtle well
this is especially important for turtles during breeding season. In addition to her usual diet, make sure the female gets enough calcium and Vitamin D3.
- A healthy diet for water turtles is a combination of: worms, snails, washed butter lettuce, melons, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, chopped greens, tomatoes, cooked sweet potatoes, dandelion flowers and leaves and mulberry leaves.
- The box turtle has the same basic diet as the water turtle, but the menu also includes food goldfish, crickets, kale, hard-boiled eggs, corn, chopped steamed broccoli and lots of green leafy vegetables.
- You can meet your turtle's calcium needs by introducing fish bones to nibble on in their habitat, or you can give them calcium supplements.
- Turtles kept outdoors do not require additional Vitamin D3; they make it themselves. But indoor turtles need a full spectrum reptile light or D3 supplement.
Method 2 of 4: Creating Optimal Breeding Conditions
Step 1. Give the turtle enough space
There's not much you can do to try to get your turtle to mate. You can just put down a sexually mature turtle and let nature act on its own. Most importantly, give them enough room to move freely. Give enough space and prepare a nesting area (see below) where the female turtles can lay their eggs.
If you have several types of turtles, you can separate the smaller ones from the larger ones during breeding season as turtles can become more aggressive during this time, and larger turtles may bite off the heads of smaller turtles
Step 2. Check the ratio of the number of males to females
It's probably best for the tortoise to be sure and have more females than males. Sexually motivated males can force females to the point of compromising their health. Males also like to fight with each other because of a female.
Step 3. Create a nesting area
Provide an area for the female to lay eggs that has protection and soft soil. This area should have an area of 15 cm by 30 cm with soft, slightly damp soil as well as some rocks and wood so that the female feels safe laying her eggs and hiding her eggs there.
- If you already have an outdoor enclosure for your tortoise, create an indoor area sometimes that already exists. If you put your tortoise in a larger area just for mating, you can create an egg-laying area in a box that your tortoise can enter.
- Most water turtles have several groups of eggs, each of which has two to 10 eggs. Turtles usually lay eggs for 24-48 hours at a time and several weeks will pass between spawns.
Method 3 of 4: Keeping Turtle Eggs
Step 1. Buy an incubator
You can buy an inexpensive incubator for turtle eggs. What is important is the temperature setting contained in the incubator. Be sure to use the thermometer that came with the incubator or purchase a thermometer to monitor the temperature.
- You don't have to have an incubator to hatch turtle eggs. Keeping it at normal summer room temperature is also sufficient. On hot days, move them to a cooler place and make sure the eggs are damp. Do not place it in direct sun; can get hot.
- If you're not using an incubator, make sure you set up the nest (see below) where you can see it and don't forget it.
Step 2. Make a nest
The nest for the turtle eggs will be in the incubator. It's pretty simple, make with a container you probably have at home and a few items from a garden supply store.
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Receptacle. Find a sturdy container with a lid and punch holes in the lid for air to enter. Food containers from restaurants and plastic containers you have in your kitchen make perfect nests. Make sure the cap you use is not too tight. If the cover is difficult to open, you could damage the fragile eggs when you examine them.
Breed Turtles Step 9Bullet1 - Loosely cover the container until close to hatching. When it's time to hatch, tighten the lid on the container containing the baby turtles.
- It is important to use a cover so that the heat source of the incubator does not overheat the eggs.
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nest material. Put in your container an equal amount of vermiculite, peat and sphagnum moss mixture. Soak the material mixture and squeeze the water out.
Breed Turtles Step 9Bullet2 - Vermiculite, peat and sphagnum moss are usually easy to find at garden supply and hardware stores. If you can not find all three, and can make a mixture of water with one or two materials.
Step 3. Incubate the eggs
After the female lays the eggs, take the eggs carefully. Don't return the eggs because it can kill the embryo. Make a small hollow in the vermiculite mixture and slowly dip the egg into it. Keep the lid closed and the temperature between 24 and 29 degrees Celsius.
- Use a marker or a piece of charcoal to mark the tops of the eggs so you don't accidentally flip them.
- If the eggs stick together and lift, try to separate them carefully. If it's hard to separate, leave it alone.
Step 4. Find out what determines the sex of your turtle
For many turtles, the sex of the baby is determined by temperature, not genetics. In the following cases higher temperatures (maximum 29 degrees Celsius) will most likely produce females. Eggs incubating slowly in temperatures around 24 degrees Celsius will usually produce males. The incubation temperature of 27 degrees Celsius will produce the same number of males and females.
Avoid your incubator temperature reaching 32 degrees Celsius and above; The egg will be broken and the baby will die. It is better to let the eggs incubate slowly than risk killing the turtle
Step 5. Check the eggs
For the first month and a half, check the eggs once a week. Make sure it's damp but not moldy or deteriorating. After 45 days, check more often to see if they are starting to hatch. Don't try to speed up the process. Baby turtles have what are called "egg teeth" which are used to open the egg shell and can hatch completely on their own.
- If mold appears on your eggs, gently wash them off with a cotton swab. Do not take the eggs to clean; eggs are fragile especially when the baby inside is starting to grow.
- Depending on the temperature of your incubator, turtles will usually hatch in 50 to 120 days.
Step 6. Get rid of the bad eggs
After one turtle hatches, the others will hatch as well. Give unhatched eggs time, but be aware that you may have to discard eggs that have rotted or that have never hatched.
- The tortoise egg may have some hollows but it's fine. Other times, one egg looks perfect, but turns out to be a leaky bottom and isn't great. When the egg falls, the egg is rotten.
- About four to six months later, test the remaining eggs and make a decision to get rid of them.
Method 4 of 4: Handling Baby Turtles
Step 1. Remove the egg shell
After the turtles hatch, remove the empty eggshells so they don't contaminate the unhatched turtle's case.
Step 2. Move the baby turtle
A turtle may lie in its egg shell for several days after hatching. During that time, he absorbed the last yolk sac attached to his stomach. Place the newly hatched turtles on a thick, damp paper towel in a container in the incubator. Leave them in for a few days to absorb the entire yolk sac. Once they are done, transfer them to a vivarium or in a saucepan with shallow water.
Step 3. Feed the turtles
Feed the baby turtles at least once a day. Baby turtles are mostly carnivores but be sure to give them fruit and vegetables. People have been successful in raising baby turtles and with a commercially available exclusive food, Reptomin.
Excess protein in a baby turtle's diet can cause deformed shells. If you make this mistake, catch it and correct it as soon as possible, and your little turtle will be fine. Unfortunately when the tortoise is large, the disability will be permanent and cause a lot of discomfort for the tortoise
Step 4. Prepare for failure
Even with the best care, some baby turtles don't survive for up to a year. In the wild, many young do not survive, and the same is true for tortoises that are kept in captivity. Enjoy the process, and when you've done your best, don't blame yourself if the eggs don't hatch or the babies die.
Tips
- Wash hands after handling turtles; turtles may have salmonella virus.
- Watch the female regularly. It takes approximately 90 days for the eggs to hatch.
- Make sure the baby turtles get the right food. Baby turtles are very fragile and need your vigilance to ensure their health. It is important to make sure they are getting enough food.
- When keeping more than one tortoise, make sure that all get an adequate amount of food for optimal health.
- Use water from springs for turtle drinking and non-chlorinated water for swimming areas. Chlorine in tap water can have an adverse effect.
Warning
- Do not breed second generation, sibling, or weak turtles. This can affect the offspring and cause defects.
- Do not move the eggs from the area where they were laid by the mother. Egg shells are very soft and can crack.
- Do not use the refrigerator to mimic hibernation conditions. The temperature is too unstable especially when there is a power outage or a problem that affects the temperature.
