Reptile & Amphibian Forums

yesterday i was cleaning out the pen and found a baby florida. I have no idea if the parent is my 3toed, but i have seen them mating. does anyone know how long the female can hold onto sperm? Does she use the new sperm if she mates? thanks/p
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Patsy

yesterday i was cleaning out the pen and found a baby florida. I have no idea if the MALE parent is my 3toed, but i have seen them mating. does anyone know how long the (florida)female can hold onto sperm? Does she use the new sperm if she mates? thanks/p
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>>Patsy
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Patsy

I think up to four years they can hold sperm.

I have a three toed that had eggs which three of the four hatched and she had been dateless for about two years.
This year she had four eggs again and one of the four hatched with the other three turning black in the incubator pretty fast.

well I'll be diggity dog.
I thought that my florida would quit being a hatchling outputter sooner than that!
I am hoping to RID myself of the males this week.
At this rate, I'll have 15-20 more babies by the time she starts popping out duds.
I'd say thanks but...
/p

>>I think up to four years they can hold sperm.
>>
>>I have a three toed that had eggs which three of the four hatched and she had been dateless for about two years.
>>This year she had four eggs again and one of the four hatched with the other three turning black in the incubator pretty fast.
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Patsy

Your three toed can indeed be the father of this baby-or if your turtle had mated with a Florida before, it could be a full Fl since females can hold sperm for 3-4 years. I think the sperm can be mixed-I see no reason why it could not be the case. Tess
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Tess Cook
www.boxturtlesite.info

Hi Tess,
Thanks for responding.
The fl female is one that was dog mauled and turned into the local used animal store. She has recovered and seems to be an egg laying machine. I am incubating 4 that were laid a few weeks ago.I currently have 5 hatchlings from this summer and 2 that I gave away last summer.
If the 3toed and Fl mate, are the offspring fertile? I plan on shipping the pair of 3 toed (M&F) to someone with the hopes to stop all this baby making at some point.
2 weeks ago a neighbor dropped off a new boxie, ??eastern?? ??male?? I am watching the lost/found for it. Beautiful, healthy and spunky about 5". Someone showed up to claim it and said, "That's a great looking turtle, but not mine." He said that his was a California Box. He clarified that he did not mean tortoise. I can't find any mention of the breed. I wonder how many boxies are breeding on this island???

Patsy

>>Your three toed can indeed be the father of this baby-or if your turtle had mated with a Florida before, it could be a full Fl since females can hold sperm for 3-4 years. I think the sperm can be mixed-I see no reason why it could not be the case.
Tess
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>>Tess Cook
>>www.boxturtlesite.info
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Patsy

You must have a turtle angel over you which is directting all these lost and needy turtles to you You are right-there is no such thing as a California box turtle but there are many people with turtles there and he could be thinking of an ornate or even an Asian box turtle- as many came to CA for the food market but were saved by turtle folks. If he doesn't research his turtle -he may be misinformed.

Yes, the intergrades of Three-toeds and Floridas will be fertile. Box turtle people are everywhere and many lose their turtles because they are just great escape artists! It is sad because most won't make it once lost-- unless a nice person finds them and takes care of them Tess

>>Hi Tess,
>> Thanks for responding.
>> The fl female is one that was dog mauled and turned into the local used animal store. She has recovered and seems to be an egg laying machine. I am incubating 4 that were laid a few weeks ago.I currently have 5 hatchlings from this summer and 2 that I gave away last summer.
>> If the 3toed and Fl mate, are the offspring fertile? I plan on shipping the pair of 3 toed (M&F) to someone with the hopes to stop all this baby making at some point.
>> 2 weeks ago a neighbor dropped off a new boxie, ??eastern?? ??male?? I am watching the lost/found for it. Beautiful, healthy and spunky about 5". Someone showed up to claim it and said, "That's a great looking turtle, but not mine." He said that his was a California Box. He clarified that he did not mean tortoise. I can't find any mention of the breed. I wonder how many boxies are breeding on this island???
>>
>>Patsy

Nope, it's just a small island community and I naively offered to rescue and relocate off island any that the used animal place sends my way.
Thanks for the post, when I next see the fellow, I'll ask to see a photo if his "CA boxie" has not yet returned.
I set about the save 3toeds because this is not their normal habitat.AND finding a vet that knows about their care is not easy. I think ... that I have decided to keep the fl but am only willing to consider it because they won't reach breeding age for years. right??? If the fl egg machine keeps pumping out 5 a year and is still carrying sperm for years... I could be in trouble. Mr. Wonderful wants me to take a long time deciding. He's a sailor and is not a pet enthusiast...
As to the current batch of eggs, our night time temp gets down to the mid 60s and I don't heat. Is this a problem?
/p
>>You must have a turtle angel over you which is directting all these lost and needy turtles to you You are right-there is no such thing as a California box turtle but there are many people with turtles there and he could be thinking of an ornate or even an Asian box turtle- as many came to CA for the food market but were saved by turtle folks. If he doesn't research his turtle -he may be misinformed.
>>
>>Yes, the intergrades of Three-toeds and Floridas will be fertile. Box turtle people are everywhere and many lose their turtles because they are just great escape artists! It is sad because most won't make it once lost-- unless a nice person finds them and takes care of them Tess
>>
>>>>Hi Tess,
>>>> Thanks for responding.
>>>> The fl female is one that was dog mauled and turned into the local used animal store. She has recovered and seems to be an egg laying machine. I am incubating 4 that were laid a few weeks ago.I currently have 5 hatchlings from this summer and 2 that I gave away last summer.
>>>> If the 3toed and Fl mate, are the offspring fertile? I plan on shipping the pair of 3 toed (M&F) to someone with the hopes to stop all this baby making at some point.
>>>> 2 weeks ago a neighbor dropped off a new boxie, ??eastern?? ??male?? I am watching the lost/found for it. Beautiful, healthy and spunky about 5". Someone showed up to claim it and said, "That's a great looking turtle, but not mine." He said that his was a California Box. He clarified that he did not mean tortoise. I can't find any mention of the breed. I wonder how many boxies are breeding on this island???
>>>>
>>>>Patsy