Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if any of you have raised Spotteds from age 0 to sexual maturity. The literature states that they reach sexual maturity at about 80 mm carapace length (~3.2 inches) and at ages from 6 to 14 years (slower rates typical for more northerly regions). However, this would be for wild turtles.

Does this size seem to hold true for those of you who have raised hatchlings up to maturity? If so, about how old were your captive turtles before they reached this size? It would be interesting to note any limitations on the rate of maturation for captive Spotteds (i.e. is there an age minimum?). I'm guessing its ~6 yrs or less before reproduction (assuming a relatively rapid growth rate).

I've also seen posts on here from people asking how long Spotteds live. James Harding (Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region) states that a wild individual was known to be 26 yrs old and that a captive specimen survived 42 years. These would of course be minimum ages.

Any thoughts?

I've raised 2 of mine from incubator to swimming.They will be 4 in Sept.I've seen it someplace that they can breed at 4yrs old,though mine still seem small.(M/F)my male is about 3-1/4 and my female is about 3".My other female I believe to be around 6yrs old 4-1/4",has laid 3 clutches for my bud I got her from probally starting at around 4yrs of age.She laid 3 eggs just last night in the water(she has a land area)I caught them within 15mins of beeing in there.1 broke and the other 2 look good so far so good.I didn't see the older F lay them but I'm assuming it was her.

I was just reading on ATP that captive spotteds can be mature between 3 and 4.A member there named Jason seems like the guy to ask about the spotteds.He has awesome looking hatchlings all the time.I wonder with age/growth rate about 3yr olds.Still seem pretty small to me,but, I'm totally new at breeding them.Hopefuly it's as easy at is seems to be,and I'm just a little nervous about starting to hatch out clutches.Curtis if these eggs hatch I'll send ya a "friend" for ya spotty .Emy do you keep that moss in your pictures over/on top of a land area in your enclosure?Was thinking about doing that but figure they'ld drag it into the water.

my female spotted(parker,my favorite turtle ever!!!!),i got her when she was 2 weeks old,from a friend of mine who is a breeder.3 1/2 years later,she is almost exactly 4".she did'nt breed for mr this year,but i have high hopes for next year.my male,stinky,i gat him last year as a young (4 yr old)adult.everyone around here that breed them agree on at least 4 yrs,and at least 3 3/4",maybe a little smaller for males.
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1.1 cb spotted turtles (parker(f),stinky(m))
0.0.1 cb baby red cheek mud (pickles)
0.0.1 cb baby chiapas musk (chomper)
0.0.1 cb ally snapper (gamera)
1.0 cb homo sapien(kaelan,5)

"my name is inigo montoya...you killed my father.prepare to die."

Thanks, Dan. That would be great!

This is a good discussion point b/c I think we all have spotteds that are on that borderline of 3 to 4 inches and we're all wondering. My female has grown so much this year, it's really cool and encouraging to see. Hopefully I can get another female and a male to put with her next spring when I get the outdoor enclosure set up.

Well, you guys have been at this longer than me. I just acquired a young male by happenstance this past March. My first Spotted, but not my first turtle. I was told by the woman who gave him to me (free!) that she had gotten him as a hatchling and she had him about a year. So I figure he's approximately 1 to 1.5 yrs old. He's grown a bit since I got him, such that he is now 89 mm carapace length (~3.5 inches) and showing clear secondary sexual characteristics. I made the decision to get him a female, so this May I purchased a CB 07 female (with pretty reliable indications that she's female). She's now 1.5 yrs old and measures 73 mm (2.9 inches). Long story short, I've got a ways to go before I'm hoping for any eggs. I was just wondering what/when to expect. Sounds like my male is large enough to be sexually mature, but probably has a couple years before he's actually producing viable sperm. Hopefully my female should be of size and age then around the same time as him. We'll see? Patience Daniel-san!

I appreciate the information about your experiences, and I'm sure you'll let us all know when your young turtles begin reproducing.

zzzdanz-

I'm not familiar with "ATP"... what does that stand for? I'm assuming this is another forum? Sounds like there is some good info on there.

I actually just finally got around to creating my land setup (with the sphagnum moss). Its been tumbling around in my head for awhile, but I had to build up the steam to get working on it. So far it seems to be working well. I have a thick piece of Cottonwood bark separating the land from the water. I cut out a groove in the bark that fits atop the plexi-glass divider I used for separation. That way it covers the potentially sharp edge of the plexi-glass and helps keep the moss on the land. It actually sits above the level of the moss and water, so hopefully (we'll see) it will keep the two from wanting to wash over to the other side. I'm sure the turtles will manage to drag some moss over with them... that seems inevitable in any setup. This ought to minimize that though. I'll let you know if it turns out to be a waste of my time/effort.

Very cool setup. Great idea with the bark. It looks so natural.

BTW, ATP stands for Austins Turtle Page or austinsturtlepage.com. It's a great reference of information on most water turtles.

i used a divider that went 1 1'2" above the water & dirt,and then put a fairly thin layer of pea gravel over the dirt.ti have'nt tried moss yet,but the plexi should hold it back fine.
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1.1 cb spotted turtles (parker(f),stinky(m))
0.0.1 cb baby red cheek mud (pickles)
0.0.1 cb baby chiapas musk (chomper)
0.0.1 cb ally snapper (gamera)
1.0 cb homo sapien(kaelan,5)

"my name is inigo montoya...you killed my father.prepare to die."

Emy that land area is very cool looking.Soon as I get a 125gal for mine I'm gonna do somthing very similar with the moss I think.Then gradually into more sand/top soil mix with some plants.Just have the sand/top soil now.Yup *ATP* (what Curtis said). I'm wondering about the age of ya male and being that big already.Most full grown males are around the 4 inch mark,or so I thought.Regardless he's a good looking up and coming breader.Yours will be breeding before ya know it and then you'll be making bigger enclosures,and then more and more!I scare myself somtimes, I don't know when to say when.700 gallon tank on Nh. Craigs...Very tempting.

Hahaha, 700 gallon tank! You aren't messing around. That would be one hell of a setup. I must confess that does sound very tempting. My plan is to eventually dig a pond for them, but that will have to wait. You are right on the money... this is very addictive. I thought I was done and over with keeping turtles, but its tough (impossible) to pass up a free Spotted Turtle. Coolest animals I've ever kept.

Well, I'm assuming my male is ~1.5 years, but I suppose he may be as young as 1 or as old as 2. Can't say for sure. Does 3.5 inches CL seem large to you? My first impression when I got him was that she must have been feeding him pretty heavily. He doesn't seem to show any real pyramiding though. He was just over 3 inches when I got him in March (when I was told he should be a female). Since then his plastron has developed some impressive concavity. He was already vigorously courting/mounting some young female midland painteds when I first got him (was briefly housed with them). He's not the prettiest individual (not the most spotty) but I really couldn't care less.

BTW, I checked out the ATP. Pretty good, thanks for the reference. ...brings up a question about water temps (new thread).

I'm no expert emy, but yeah,kinda seems big for his age.I'ld guess he probally never went hungry.I think he looks good,and if he aint mature enough to mate yet,well,practice makes perfect!He'll be ready to go in another yr or so.Imagine that 700 gallon monster tank..awesome

Yeah, I would guess she fed him pretty liberally (not sure what though). Maybe he's older than I think too. Actually he just recently went through a funk and seemed pretty sick. He displayed some symptoms of an upper respiratory infection except that instead of refusing to enter the water, he would not leave the water. He essentially slept all day, refused to eat, and his eyes got swollen. I was pretty worried. I took him to see a vet and they thought it might actually be a vitamin A deficiency. He's had a very diverse diet since I've had him, but I suspect the deficiency may have occurred with his previous owner. At any rate, I bumped up the water temp, got him out for more natural sunlight, and used some eye-drops (w/ vitamin A). He's since gotten his appetite back and looks good again. Hopefully he's in the clear, but I've also been soaking some of his food in cod liver oil to boost his vitamin A intake. Ever had any experiences like that? Maybe I was overreacting. His weight stayed relatively stable and whatever he had seems to have been fairly mild (the vet was not too concerned). Needless to say, I'll be keeping a close eye on him though.

Geez I hope he's ok.I haven't had any issues at all with any of my spotties,or other turtles,knock on wood.Well 1 small incident where my heater in my painteds enclosure had a tiny crack in it,and was giving off a little *jolt* when I touched the water.Thankfully np's with the turtles,but I'm sure they where happy to see me toss it in the trash.Great pic Emy..Hope he's gonna be OK

I have never raised any to breeding age but I think the age is more important than size. Many of my breeders were only 3 to 3 1/4 inches. I raised some to 3 inches in a year and a half and they were shaped much different than an old mature 3 incher. The young ones were flatter and the older breeders were humped. I don't believe that the young flat ones could support eggs -not enough room in there. I would guess five years of age would be minimum for a female to lay eggs.