# How do you care for hybrid tortoises?



## TechnoCheese (Sep 2, 2018)

I’ve been wondering this for a pretty long time, but how do you care for hybrids who’s parent species have different care?

Far example, if you had a leofoot, what would you feed it? What temps would you keep it at? Would you use bright lights?

I’m assuming this is one of the many reasons it shouldn’t be done?


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## Tim Carlisle (Sep 2, 2018)

For a frankentort? lol

But seriously.... it's well known that "mutts" are generally longer living and less susceptible to certain ailments. Why not for tortoises? Just throwin' it out there. I haven't a clue.


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## TechnoCheese (Sep 2, 2018)

Mizcreant said:


> For a frankentort? lol
> 
> But seriously.... it's well known that "mutts" are generally longer living and less susceptible to certain ailments. Why not for tortoises? Just throwin' it out there. I haven't a clue.



I think the difference is that, for mutts(assuming you mean dogs) they are all the same species, and would breed if given the chance in “the wild”. They also all live in the same relative area. Dogs also don’t have very different care, other than /maybe/ being able to be fed specializes diets.

For tortoises, there aren’t many species that would cross paths in the wild. If two different species from two separate places somehow managed to breed, would the baby ever be able to survive? I think it might be similar to housing two different species of animals together, where you will never be able to give both of them the correct environment, because they both require different care. The offspring, even if in the same environment as one parent, would probably have traits of the other parent that would make it so that the other parent’s environment wouldn’t be as “survivable” as it would be for a tortoise that wasn’t mixed.

In captivity, it would probably be similar. Even if the keeper kept them in the perfect conditions for one species, it still wouldn’t be the correct environment for the other. But with dogs, you can feed virtually any breed the same food, and they’ll be fine. I would think that not being able to perfect the care of a mixed tortoise would have an effect on their lifespan.

In addition, Who knows what kind of illnesses/disabilities they could develop? For example, ligers and tigrons(lion and tiger mixes). They often suffer from debilitating health problems, sustain more injuries than other big cats, and die prematurely. Tigrons(female lion+male tiger) have a heightened risk of suffering from a number of neurological and physical conditions, and rarely make it past infancy.
Ligers(male lion, female tiger)Usually have to be delivered by C-section because they’re predisposed to gigantism.


So I think that, in the end, mixing Species is different than mixing breeds.


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## TechnoCheese (Sep 2, 2018)

Mizcreant said:


> For a frankentort? lol
> 
> But seriously.... it's well known that "mutts" are generally longer living and less susceptible to certain ailments. Why not for tortoises? Just throwin' it out there. I haven't a clue.



In addition, I would think that, like most hybrid species, the hybrid would be sterile. With mutts, which are mixtures of breeds and not species, they can continue to reproduce.

So you wouldn’t really even be able to get a mutt tortoise, IF the hybrids can’t reproduce.


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## Tim Carlisle (Sep 3, 2018)

TechnoCheese said:


> In addition, I would think that, like most hybrid species, the hybrid would be sterile. With mutts, which are mixtures of breeds and not species, they can continue to reproduce.
> 
> So you wouldn’t really even be able to get a mutt tortoise, IF the hybrids can’t reproduce.


Geneticists are coming up with all kinds of strange concepts. I don't believe for a second that it couldn't be possible one day.


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## EmeraldxxEyesx (Sep 3, 2018)

TechnoCheese said:


> In addition, I would think that, like most hybrid species, the hybrid would be sterile. With mutts, which are mixtures of breeds and not species, they can continue to reproduce.
> 
> So you wouldn’t really even be able to get a mutt tortoise, IF the hybrids can’t reproduce.


Theres a leo-sulcata mix on a thread here. On an update from the past week the keeper said that she bred with a male sulcata and laid eggs.


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## TechnoCheese (Sep 3, 2018)

EmeraldxxEyesx said:


> Theres a leo-sulcata mix on a thread here. On an update from the past week the keeper said that she bred with a male sulcata and laid eggs.



Oh yeah, I just saw that! I wonder if a tortoise who’s parent species were very different, like a Leofoot, could do the same?


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## EmeraldxxEyesx (Sep 3, 2018)

TechnoCheese said:


> Oh yeah, I just saw that! I wonder if a tortoise who’s parent species were very different, like a Leofoot, could do the same?


Im not sure. I know the hybrids are frowned upon, but I think its interesting. And some of them are gorgeous, like that Leo-Sully mix.


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## Kapidolo Farms (Sep 3, 2018)

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-question-i-got-today….140805/#post-1314662

Frankentort, yeah, I know some Frankentort breeders, all in all - interesting and ill-advised. Albinos are enough of a distraction from animals that are all pleasant to look at in their best wild type morphology. 

Somewhere here on TFO are images of a sulcata/redfood hybrid. It did not seem to end up with anything that could be called attractive or beautiful. Interesting maybe, but then so are all the poop images that people post.

As for care, all neonates do well with the basic set-up for an enclosure that @Tom has advocated for in a bazillion posts. Adults once established do well in a large mixed choice enclosure.


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## EmeraldxxEyesx (Sep 3, 2018)

Will said:


> https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-question-i-got-today….140805/#post-1314662
> 
> Frankentort, yeah, I know some Frankentort breeders, all in all - interesting and ill-advised. Albinos are enough of a distraction from animals that are all pleasant to look at in their best wild type morphology.
> 
> Somewhere here on TFO are images of a sulcata/redfood hybrid. It did not seem to end up with anything that could be called attractive or beautiful. Interesting maybe, but then so are all the poop images that people post.


I saw that one, I think. The head looked kinda like it was burned? I would have named it Wade Wilson for sure.. lol. That one didnt look good.


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## TechnoCheese (Sep 3, 2018)

Will said:


> https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-question-i-got-today….140805/#post-1314662
> 
> Frankentort, yeah, I know some Frankentort breeders, all in all - interesting and ill-advised. Albinos are enough of a distraction from animals that are all pleasant to look at in their best wild type morphology.
> 
> ...



Do you know what you would feed them? Sulcatas shouldn’t have fruit very often, if at all, but redfoots should have it daily. Wouldn’t that cause a few problems?


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## Kapidolo Farms (Sep 4, 2018)

TechnoCheese said:


> Do you know what you would feed them? Sulcatas shouldn’t have fruit very often, if at all, but redfoots should have it daily. Wouldn’t that cause a few problems?


 if you consider squash and okra, things like that are indeed fruit, it works out.


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