Maturity in Galapagos tortoise

[tortgiant]

Sexual maturity for male and females in wild Galapagos tortoises is reached at between 20 to 25 years of age.

Would captive and husbandry conditions change the age at first succesful reproduction for male and female tortoises?

 

[wellington]

@Markw84

 

[Tom]

Sexual maturity for male and females in wild Galapagos tortoises is reached at between 20 to 25 years of age.

Would captive and husbandry conditions change the age at first succesful reproduction for male and female tortoises?

I know of an Aldabra female that had babies at 13 years of age. She was raised on a pasture in FL and fed infrequently, left to graze on the pasture grass for the majority of her food intake.

I know of a male Galapagos tortoise that had babies at age 17. The females were older than him.

Only recently have some people been raising Galapagos tortoises with good hydration and keeping them in closed chamber enclosures. They grow much faster this way than when kept in the usual dry way and underfed. Time will tell when these animals are old enough to breed. I speculate that some of the faster growers may be of reproductive size in as little as 10 years. Certainly by 15 years.

Radiata have to be of a certain age, AND a certain size to reproduce. I don't know if there is an age component like this with Galaps or not.

 

[TammyJ]

Very interesting!

 

[Markw84]

Since I wag tagged, I will reply...

@Tom stated it perfectly. I agree totally and my experience and observations follow exactly as Tom outlined.

 

[tortgiant]

Appreciate all your comments with hopefully more to follow. I am amazed to learn that the maturity in giant tortoises is not as clear cut as has invariably been taught. It is how research and science can advance our critical knowledge of these endangered tortoise species, their position and importance within the natural world and how to advance their conservation.

I would love to see how the experiences of the private breeder community compare to CDRS breeding station regimes in Galapagos or the developmental stages to maturity under truly wild conditions for Galapagos tortoise of the various islands both small and large (Isabela with multiple species).