16 replies to this topic

[Lance]

Hi 😃

I have been wondering what species is more popular redfooted or leopard tortoise?
I have been thinking about breeding tortoises and have narrowed it down to these two,but would need to know which one is more popular so I can get the beast result and maybe try and expand. I have space for summer and winter pens and grass areas available so have all that's needed and have done research on both species. I also have food available as I have a border (area) of dandy lions and tortoise seed mix due to my current tortoises . I also have strawberries and melons growing during the sumer for redfooted tortoises as well as grass for leopard tortoises.

Thanks in advance lance 🐢

[babettebeau]

Hi Lance
Where are you located? Which country?
Thanks
Sabina

[wizzasmum]

Hi
I have been wondering what species is more popular redfooted or leopard tortoise?
I have been thinking about breeding tortoises and have narrowed it down to these two,but would need to know which one is more popular so I can get the beast result and maybe try and expand. I have space for summer and winter pens and grass areas available so have all that's needed and have done research on both species. I also have food available as I have a border (area) of dandy lions and tortoise seed mix due to my current tortoises . I also have strawberries and melons growing during the sumer for redfooted tortoises as well as grass for leopard tortoises.
Thanks in advance lance

To be honest, in the uk, neither of these is a good idea. Neither are popular due to the difficulty of keeping them. Leopard tortoises are indigenous to South Africa and therefore it's not easy to give them a good habitat in uk without a great deal of expense. To breed them would definitely result in lots of tortoises eventually looking for new homes. They can't even be rehomed to zoos any more. Redfoots are also not easy to breed in this country due to the difficulty of creating large enough enclosures which need high levels of humidity amongst other problems. I think you need to research very carefully before going ahead with this project. It's a lot more involved than growing weeds, fruit and grass I'm afraid. Hope this helps.

[mildredsmam]

To be honest, in the uk, neither of these is a good idea. Neither are popular due to the difficulty of keeping them. Leopard tortoises are indigenous to South Africa and therefore it's not easy to give them a good habitat in uk without a great deal of expense. To breed them would definitely result in lots of tortoises eventually looking for new homes. They can't even be rehomed to zoos any more. Redfoots are also not easy to breed in this country due to the difficulty of creating large enough enclosures which need high levels of humidity amongst other problems. I think you need to research very carefully before going ahead with this project. It's a lot more involved than growing weeds, fruit and grass I'm afraid. Hope this helps.

I agree with this, Leopards and Redfoots are such large species I think you would find it hard to get good homes for the hatchlings as you would have to make sure any one taking them new the size they would get too also the space they need and the expense involved when their adult size, is there a reason your wanting to breed one of the larger species.  

[Lance]

Thanks for the advice Lance

I will definitely do more research on other species of tortoise would you be able to tell me some different types of tortoises That a can research please

Lance 🐢

[wizzasmum]

You need to get used to keeping tortoises for several years until you go into breeding Lance. It's not just a matter of getting a couple of tortoises and away you go. You need to be very careful where they come from with the risks associated with cross contamination, you need several females to each male, large areas with suitable nesting places, good hibernation quarters if breeding a hibernating species and a hefty bank balance if none hibernating. To be brutally honest there is no money to be made from breeding tortoises in this country and definitely a huge loss from the larger species. It's best to regard tortoise breeding as a hobby. I've been keeping them for over thirty five years now and spend a lot of time and money on their care and housing etc. By the time the certificates from Animal Health are sorted for babies, plus the rearing, cost of equipment, lighting, heating etc I'd guess you just about break even if you're lucky. There are a few who do it on a budget but there are usually a lot of problems along the way and vets fees for exotics can be sky high. Hope this helps

[mildredsmam]

Hi Lance,

What tortoises do you have now.  

[Lance]

I have 2 Hermann tortoises well one might not be I got them in a bad way as one was 200g under weight and had lack of Calcium so had lack of colour as well as a deformed shell and the other one was not eating at all and had to be feed by hand every day.they are both at good weight and have a lot more colorful shells. I don't know if my male tortoise is Hermann or not as they look completely different from shell size to having two small little bumpes on eather side of his tale.

Just thought you would like to know the advise you gave Karen saved the female tortoises life for sure and I thank you so much 😄.
lance

[Lance]

 image.jpeg   93.2KB   0 downloads  image.jpeg   96.85KB   0 downloads my tortoises both 6 this year 🎈🎉
Would you like to see a picture of where they would live out doors

Also I'm going to do this as a hobby as I love tortoises and reptiles tortoises mainly but I have a leopard gecko.

[wizzasmum]

To see where they would live would be lovely, but it would be a much better idea not to breed from them. It's taken a long time for the trade in these large species to decline, due to the problems mentioned, so it would be a shame to just add to the numbers of rescues ;)

[mildredsmam]

image.jpegimage.jpeg my tortoises both 6 this year
Would you like to see a picture of where they would live out doors

Also I'm going to do this as a hobby as I love tortoises and reptiles tortoises mainly but I have a leopard gecko.

Hi Lance,

Your tortoises are lovely   maybe have a good think before getting more and a different species it's harder keeping different species with cross contamination as different species need to be kept separate at all times even in the garden, another thing to think about is that some tortoises carry viruses that can harm your tortoises there's been a few cases lately of the Herpes virus this virus kills tortoises, hope that helps and gives you some thing to think about.  

[Lance]

My two Hermanns tortoises are in my back garden but if I go ahead with getting more tortoises I have space some place elsewhere so they would be in separate places so no cross contamination and I would always make sure that hands are washed and no cross contamination. Just wondering if you could recommend some tortoises that would be ok I know Hermann,marginated,horsfield,sulcata,Egyptian,testudo,and spur-thigh but are There any others that are non hibernateing?

elongated tortoises Are they ok I know they are humility loving and I have a plan for a tortoise table with humility as well as room and heat as sadly my baby marginated tortoises died a few months ago so I don't want to get a marginated as it would be to upsetting so do you recommend elongated Karen?

Lance 🐢

[mildredsmam]

My two Hermanns tortoises are in my back garden but if I go ahead with getting more tortoises I have space some place elsewhere so they would be in separate places so no cross contamination and I would always make sure that hands are washed and no cross contamination. Just wondering if you could recommend some tortoises that would be ok I know Hermann,marginated,horsfield,sulcata,Egyptian,testudo,and spur-thigh but are There any others that are non hibernateing?

elongated tortoises Are they ok I know they are humility loving and I have a plan for a tortoise table with humility as well as room and heat as sadly my baby marginated tortoises died a few months ago so I don't want to get a marginated as it would be to upsetting so do you recommend elongated Karen?

Lance

Hi Lance,

Sorry I don't know enough about them to give you advice, I'm sorry to hear about your little Marginated tortoise what happened.  

[Lance]

On the website that I had been doing research it had the wrong hibernation time

[wizzasmum]

It sounds as though you need to do a lot more research Lance before you look any further into breeding and have a really good vet on standby. It's sad you've been given such bad advice. Hibernation is a lot more than just timing I'm afraid, it's about wind down, hydration etc

[mildredsmam]

It sounds as though you need to do a lot more research Lance before you look any further into breeding and have a really good vet on standby. It's sad you've been given such bad advice. Hibernation is a lot more than just timing I'm afraid, it's about wind down, hydration etc

I agree, there's some rubbish advice out there and some really good advice stick with this forum and places like the Tortoise trust places like these will give you the right advice, if I were you I would do a lot more research and ask a lot more questions before doing any thing.  

[Lance]

Hi

Thank you for all of the advice you are right I do not have enough experience with tortoises to start breeding them especially types of tortoises I have not experienced keeping. Taking this onboard I will not breed tortoises for a long time if I ever which I probably will not.
Instead I will gust enjoy the tortoises I have and keep them happy and healthy.

Also I will double check all information to make sure it is correct.

Thanks so much Lance