Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two cb spotted's that I bought in 98. I am thinking about buying a mature trio to breed them. I have loved these little guys the entire time. It seems specific info on breeding these little guys is quite rare on the net(also looked for books specifically dedicated to the breeding and housing of spotteds and found nothing). Also I checked the forum archives only to find sparse info on a few things. I currently have the two I bought in a 75 gallon aquarium with about 8" of water and a basking area. Im changing them over to a 55 so I can "redecorate" the 75 with a land section. I live in south eastern PA and I was also curious about hibernating them. Is hibernating the necessary for breeding? Im not so sure the ones I currently have a mature yet, but they will be soon (next couple years). I would love if I could get some very detailed information about breeding these turtles in the form of a reply post, links, email, or whatever.

One last thing...Are bog turtles currently being captive bred. I understand they are thought to be highly endangered. Ive hiked through hundreds of acres of swap and bog when I lived in NY and have never seen any. I used to work for a conservation/science station for a college. I am really interested in getting a couple of bog turtles for breeding if they can be purchased cb.

Thanks for any/all info. Been a registered poster for less than a day, but I have been reading the forum archives for about a week. Lots of great info/people here. Laters. Steve.

I'm sure you know some say that the Bog Turtle is not really so endangered but just really really secretive and therefore hard to come by. Not sure what to believe but I must say I'd love to get a hold of a couple myself. You can forget about finding them for sale. Your only chances are to find them in the wild. Good luck with that too. I spent several weekends searching through the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in basking ridge NJ (even got authorization for the "employee only" "restricted" section) and came up empty handed. If you are lucky enough to somehow obtain any you better keep it awfully quiet because Fish and Wildlife service WILL bust your ass. There was a guy about ten years ago from north NJ that got his house raided for keeping (even breeding?) Bog turtles. Was all over the news. Believe it or not I even called the guy and he told me that he was treated like a common criminal. Suppossedly got in a lot of trouble. The funny thing is before we hung up and after he seemed to trust that I was ledgit he stongly hinted that the feds didn't get all his Bogs and that he still had some hidden away...

Bog turtles are a federally threatened species which means they are completely protected in the wild in all states they occur in. In some states they are quite rare, in others they can be somewhat "plentiful". However, even the largest populations rarely exceed 50-70 breeding adults.

Many people legally breed bog turtles in captivity. Captive born hatchling cost anywhere from $300 to $1000. There are alway many available at the Daytona expo (coming up next month). However, to purchase one you need to be a resident (and prove it) of the state where they were legally bred and hatched. Or you must have a USDI permit to transport them across state lines. Or you can get around the permit if the animal is given to you and no money or trade item is exchanged.

I know Don hamper raises Bog turtles.
http://www.pythons.com/hamper/
He also raises many of the other rare and endangered reptiles.

Thanks for all the info guys/gals. I am going to pick up a mature set of spotteds and I am going to check at the two local shows in August for bogs. I doubt (if they are as expensive as I was told) that I will be able to afford them. Hopefully I will have baby spotteds next year. Thanks everyone!

I suggest anyone interested in bog turtles read this.
www.xmission.com/~gastown/herpmed/bogtur.htm

I have a small group of c.b. adult spotteds that are not at all hard to breed. I keep the 3 females in a 75 gallon tank unless they are gravid. Then I keep them in a waterland tub. I feed them aqua max and shinners. I have never once hibernated them and they breed every year. At thanksgiving I drop the day light to about 8 hours and feed them twice a week. I DO NOT DROP THE TEMP BELOW 70 DEGREES!!. I lost more that one of my spotties trying to "cool" them. Easter I change the day light to about 14 hours and feed them like mad! After about 3 weeks I move one of my two males through the tank three days a week. The males will stress the females and may jeopardize their health if left in 24/7. One of my females laid 9 eggs over three clutches and 7 hatched. My other two laid two clutches of two eggs. Only 3 of the 8 hatched but they were bred this year for the first time.I wish you luck . SPOTTED TURTLES RULE AND C.B. SPOTTIES ARE MUCH BETTER TO WORK WITH.The extra time is well worth it!! As for bogs any population is rare and WELL protected as they should be. P.A. will not issue a permit to anyone in the state at any time. Dedicated breeders may one day make bogs more avaiable but wild caught bogs should stay that way and not pillaged by poachers!

I know of two confirmed sites for bogs, one in MD and one in NJ. I found them in NJ but only two in my life time. I know of one in MD that is supposed to have the best population of them. I have yet to photograph any there. I'll tell you that where they are "numerous", they are extremely rare and/ or extremely hard to find. If lack of finding them is a signal of their rarity, then they are very rare even where they are common and present. I know spotted turtles are 1000% easier to find, and even they are uncommon compared to box, painted, mud, and about any other specie you can mention.

I believe bog turtles are doomed to die off in nature. The two areas I see are isolated by ubanization occuring around them, threatened from run-off, and bogs are very vulnerable to preditors like foxes, skunks, possums, raccoons, etc that are plentiful. Their habitat is not being maintained due to fire suppression (near urban areas). And urban areas prevent them from moving easily. Also, since their hard to find, I bet most go undetected by land evaluators surveying for new construction. I believe they should be removed from nature and given to proven breeders of clemmys. Then, adults may be returned to nature after a sizable population has been created and human pressure problems have been resolved.

this is a controversial viewpoint for sure, vidusa, but i am inclined to agree. There are many species whose range is so threatened by human encroachment that it seems they're doomed. It has always seemed sad to me that so many interesting creatures had the bad luck to be native to the eastern united states. We are already living in a time when the term megalopolis can be applied to almost the entire region from boston to washington d.c. and it extends wide westward as well.... Like many of you i have spent many many hours wandering the dimishing wetlands of Maryland, New jersey New York and Pennslyvannia. It seems every year there is more pavement and there are fewer trees. I think the southern population may do okay (i have never seen any of the sites but am assured many are quite remote form human settlement, though some of you may know beter) but i think the Northeatern US is destined to be a giant parkinglot-mall-highway-suburban neighboorhood and ther isn't much future despite land acquition and conservation efforts for any but the most adaptable animlas there.

this is a controversial viewpoint for sure, vidusa, but i am inclined to agree. There are many species whose range is so threatened by human encroachment that it seems they're doomed. It has always seemed sad to me that so many interesting creatures had the bad luck to be native to the eastern united states. We are already living in a time when the term megalopolis can be applied to almost the entire region from boston to washington d.c. and it extends wide westward as well.... Like many of you i have spent many many hours wandering the dimishing wetlands of Maryland, New jersey New York and Pennslyvannia. It seems every year there is more pavement and there are fewer trees. I think the southern population may do okay (i have never seen any of the sites but am assured many are quite remote form human settlement, though some of you may know beter) but i think the Northeatern US is destined to be a giant parkinglot-mall-highway-suburban neighboorhood and ther isn't much future despite land acquition and conservation efforts for any but the most adaptable animlas there.

Hey guys,

What's the general price range for spotteds being sold in captivity? I've always dreamed bout getting one and I have kept turtles for over 15 years but never had the chance to encounter one in the wild or for sale. Might have to do mail orders or something.

Heh..if I ever got a spotted, i think i'll be finally content with my turtle obsession.

Prices range from hatchlings going from $75 to $125. Usually the magic number is $100 for a hatchling spotted.

Ive seen adults for a wider range. Trios of adults can go anywhere from $350 to $700.

Ive kept a huge assortment of herps in the past. My spotted turtles are by far the longest residents of my home (besides my cat). I have never kept a turtle so full of personality (besides maybe an adult N.A. Wood turtle). Both N.A. wood and spotted turtles are both part of the genus Clemmys, with one other species being the bog turtle. And seeing how both of the turtles I (and many others from what Ive been told and read) have kept have so much personality, that is why I am on a mission to buy some captive bred Bog turtles (also the same genus). These turtles are really fun to watch. They are very inquistive, but very skittish at the same time. Spotted turtles are an awesome choice for a turtle. They stay small, they are very attractive, and seem easy to breed. They are just a little expensive. But I would rather pay the extra cash for spotteds than contribute to the mass population of RES's looking for new homes because their owners didnt realize they get that big. Ive rambled enough now.