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| Red Eared Slider TurtleEnclosure Selection Health Feeding Water BreedingThe Decision to Breed Selecting a Pair Mating Gestation Incubation Hatching Juveniles The Decision To Breed... The decision to breed turtles is not one which should be made lightly. The pair, eggs, and hatchlings need extensive care and attention to ensure good health and ultimate success. Gravid females need to be well cared for, eggs will need an appropriate incubator and hatchlings will need a separate enclosure. The long term costs are great and there is little money to be made in re-selling them. Unless you are considering full scale commercial breeding you are almost certainly going to lose money. Breeding turtles is more about the love of reptiles than the money. Things to consider before you start: - Do you have the money to offer proper care to the hatchlings? - Can you commit time to feeding and looking after multiple reptiles? - Do you have the necessary experience to deal with anything that might happen? - What are you going to do with the babies? If you’re still willing to give it a go, let’s get started! Selecting a Pair Of all the things you need to breed successfully the most obvious is a male and female pair. Sexing the animals is relatively easy. Males will have much longer tails, longer front claws, and will possibly have a more domed shell. Mating Mating begins with courtship, during which time the male will approach the female and flutter his front claws on her shell and head. If the female is receptive, she will swim towards the male and mating begins. If not, she can become very aggressive. They then drop to the bottom of the tank to mate, which is done underwater. The mating process typically takes 10-15 minutes, while the entire process including courtship will take about 45 minutes. Gestation Following mating females will begin to produce eggs. She will spend more time basking in order to keep her eggs warm, and her diet may change. She may suddenly become picky about what she eats or she may reduce her intake. Eggs will be fertilised as they are laid, and a suitable laying site should be provided. Such a site can be a small patch of sand or dirt out of the water. It is possible that the female will lay infertile eggs with no male present. Check carefully for any signs that laying has taken place, such as disturbed substrate. Eggs should immediately but gently be removed to a suitable incubator, being careful not to rotate them. The developing embryo will have attached itself to the inside of the egg at the top, and inverting the egg at this stage will result in the fluid within the egg drowning the embryo. Use a water based marker to mark the top of the egg so that if they become dislodged you can correct them, hopefully before any damage is done. Further indications that an egg is fertile will include a chalky white appearance developing across the surface of the egg along with hardening of the shell, while infertile eggs will remain soft and start to collapse on themselves. Incubation It is possible to incubate for sex, which essentially means you can play turtle god and choose what sex you want hatchlings to be. Temperatures should not drop below 78F/24C or rise above 86F/35C at any time, and the only real way to achieve this is to construct an incubator. These can be simple home made affairs, such as the one described here or here or you can purchase one made for chicken eggs such as the Hovabator. Eggs incubated near the lower limit will tend to be females, while eggs incubated near the upper limit will tend to be male. Eggs incubated in the middle range will produce a mix of males and females. Humidity plays an important part in the incubation process. Too low a humidity will result in the eggs drying out, while too high a humidity can induce mould. Use a reliable humidity gauge, preferably digital. The ideal range would be somewhere between 75% and 85%. Incubating eggs in a suitable container such as a margarine tub, with small holes punched in the top or sides. An incubating medium should be used which holds water and prevents the eggs drying out, as the growing embryo in the egg will draw water from the surrounding air as it develops. The most popular medium seems to be Vermiculite which is commonly sold in garden centres. Incubation can take between 50 and 60 days, depending on the temperature. Naturally, the lower the temperature then the longer they will take to hatch. Eggs must be monitored carefully for drying out, mould, caving in and, nearer the end of the incubation period, hatchlings. Hatching Immediately prior to hatching, the eggs will become indented and the turtles will pierce the shell themselves. Resist the temptation to help a hatchling which appears to be struggling, it may take them some time to work their way out and they may well stop for a rest. Opening eggs when they are not ready will kill a hatchling. The hatchlings will retreat back into their shell for up to 2 days before emerging, to allow themselves time to absorb the yolk sac. Once they have emerged, they can be removed to an enclosure much like the adults, but should not be allowed in water until the hole where the yolk sac was attached has completely healed. Too much motion at this stage will draw air into the carapace and likely kill the hatchling. Similarly, if an egg has been rotated and emerges upside down it air can be drawn in as it flails its legs to try to right itself. Juveniles Temperatures should be slightly higher although they water can be just as deep as the adults. Provide plenty of vegetation and cover for the hatchlings, and monitor their growth. They should be about 2.5 inches at one year. Make sure they are receiving proper supplementation and provide plenty of variety in their diet. A mix of feeder insects, vegetation, and commercial turtle foods should be offered. As they grow, they will come to eat more vegetable matter than live insects. Any comments or feedback can be sent to webmaster@reptileguides.com. Check back often for updates
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