# hybrid tortoise



## jaredpotts (May 18, 2011)

Will a sulcata and a desert tortoise mate successfully?


----------



## Shelly (May 18, 2011)

Depends what you mean by "successfully".


----------



## jaredpotts (May 18, 2011)

the general meaning. . . . having offspring that survive


----------



## Shelly (May 18, 2011)

Nope.


----------



## bikerchicspain (May 18, 2011)

I doubt it very much..


----------



## Laura (May 18, 2011)

and... they should NOT be housed together.. 
Risking both.


----------



## GeoTerraTestudo (May 19, 2011)

Speaking of hybridization, I realize that different subspecies can cross-breed (like different subspecies of box turtle or leopard tortoise), but what about closely related tortoise species? For example, will a red-foot hybridize with a yellow-foot? And what about different species within the genus _Testudo_? Has anyone ever heard of Greek, Hermann, or Russian tortoises hybridizing with each other? And if so, what was the outcome? I ask, not because I intend to hybridize these animals, but because I'd like to be able to recognize such a thing if I ever see it.


----------



## Terry Allan Hall (May 20, 2011)

GeoTerraTestudo said:


> Speaking of hybridization, I realize that different subspecies can cross-breed (like different subspecies of box turtle or leopard tortoise), but what about closely related tortoise species? For example, will a red-foot hybridize with a yellow-foot? And what about different species within the genus _Testudo_? Has anyone ever heard of Greek, Hermann, or Russian tortoises hybridizing with each other? And if so, what was the outcome? I ask, not because I intend to hybridize these animals, but because I'd like to be able to recognize such a thing if I ever see it.



The various _Testudos_ can hybridize and produce viable offspring, but most tort-folks are opposed to such crossings...bought a hermanni b/graeca ? cross last year, and soon gave it to my niece's son, as I'd initially bought it as a pure hermanni b., for breeding purposes. 

It's made him a fine pet, though.

As for crossing a redfoot w/ a yellowfoot, I've heard it can be done, but I don't know if the resulting offspring would be fertile or not.


----------



## GeoTerraTestudo (May 20, 2011)

Terry Allan Hall said:


> The various _Testudos_ can hybridize and produce viable offspring, but most tort-folks are opposed to such crossings...bought a hermanni b/graeca ? cross last year, and soon gave it to my niece's son, as I'd initially bought it as a pure hermanni b., for breeding purposes.
> 
> It's made him a fine pet, though.
> 
> As for crossing a redfoot w/ a yellowfoot, I've heard it can be done, but I don't know if the resulting offspring would be fertile or not.



That's really interesting. How did you recognize that the tortoise you bought last year was a hybrid? Also, was the place you bought it from aware that it was a hybrid?


----------



## Terry Allan Hall (May 20, 2011)

GeoTerraTestudo said:


> Terry Allan Hall said:
> 
> 
> > The various _Testudos_ can hybridize and produce viable offspring, but most tort-folks are opposed to such crossings...bought a hermanni b/graeca ? cross last year, and soon gave it to my niece's son, as I'd initially bought it as a pure hermanni b., for breeding purposes.
> ...



A friend at the Forest Park Zoo (Ft. Worth, Tx) told me when I brought the tort in to be ID'd, as I'd never before seen a Hermann's w/ both spurs on each thigh, a Graeca trait, and the horny tail tip that a Hermann's has.

At the same visit, he took a blood sample to see, from the DNA, if it could be determined exactly which Graeca subspecies he might've desended from...that was very inconclusive in itself, leading us to think that the Graeca linage was pretty mixed up as well.

The seller is a breeder in a nearby major city who, for at least a few years, kept all his tortoises in the same enclosure, so I won't be doing further business for breeding stock, although these "mutts" are perfectly fine as pets, and Little Micky loves "Tommy Tortoise" very much.


----------

