Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have know idea how this happend this is the strangest thing i have ever seen in all my years of raising tortises. i have a very large female desert tort and a med size male bbm tort. on day i went out side and the male had gotten out of his pen into the desert torts pen. he was mounting her. i did't think much of it beacue he mounts rocks and anything that looks like a girl. then a little while latter the female laid 12 eggs, this was odd to me beacue i do not have a male. i know some time unfirtle eggs can be laid. but i rembered the mounding bbm so i decided to put them into an incubator. to my shock and delight 10 of them hached this morning. i was just wanting some thoughts on this subject. does anyone know if i would be able to sell these leagely i know you can not sell the deserts but as far as hybrids go i have no clue. let me know thanks. you can e-mail me if you want some pic of the hatchlings.

Wow. This would be quite remarkable. I'm sure most would love to see some pics.

I see nothing potentially illegal about selling these animals. I'm assuming your concern is regulatory regarding the deserts. If a cross has indeed happened, the offspring would not be deserts. genetic testing would confirm that should the issue ever arise.

Has the female ever been exposed to a male of her species? Ever? If so, when?

that's really strange, and unfortunate given how threatened each of these species is. Are you sure the emys sired the hatchlings ? Tortoises can retain sperm for years from earlier matings. Can you post a pic of the hatchlings ? I have no idea how you'd care for them best, since one needs hot and dry, the other prefers cooler temps and moisture....and their digestive systems are also adapted to very different sorts of foods.

I don't see what's unfortunate about it. (Again, I'm holding a decent amount of skepticism).

>>that's really strange, and unfortunate given how threatened each of these species is. Are you sure the emys sired the hatchlings ? Tortoises can retain sperm for years from earlier matings. Can you post a pic of the hatchlings ? I have no idea how you'd care for them best, since one needs hot and dry, the other prefers cooler temps and moisture....and their digestive systems are also adapted to very different sorts of foods.

unfortunate in that these are both threatened species of which more captive breedings are valuable, and this hybrid breeding is wasted; plus the possibility that it could eventually lead to F2 hybrids.

In some countries it is fashion for zoos to exhibit lion/tiger hybrids, which both wastes valuable cage space for keeping endangered species, and gives the public the idea that zoos are for displaying novelties......

sorry my camra is lost as soon as i find it i'll put them up. the tortoise babys look like a darker colord desart. as hatchlings i don't know what they will look like as adults if they are legal to sell them if i have a good offer i think i would like to see how they turn out as adults.