hybrid tortoise

[jaredpotts]

Will a sulcata and a desert tortoise mate successfully?

 

[Shelly]

Depends what you mean by "successfully".

 

[jaredpotts]

the general meaning. . . . having offspring that survive

 

[Shelly]

Nope.

 

[bikerchicspain]

I doubt it very much..

 

[Laura]

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

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

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]

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]

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]

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?

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.