My last thread of the year...

[Gerards]

Total novice question. She is really interesting, but I have always thought of albino animals as being genetically weak. She would likely not survive to breeding age in the wild, simply because she lacks natural camouflage. Is it a good idea to breed her? Or is it just an experiment for the pet trade? I know exactly nothing about breeding turtles, so please don't take this wrong. I'm just curious. Albino animals lack their protection from the sun, which is so inherent in a turtle's proper development and metabolism. Is it known what the life expectancy and health expectations are? Do turtles get skin cancer? Have I spent too much time on angelfish forums where breeders know a freakish amount of information about the genetics of their fish?? LOL

Albino turtles do just fine outside. The first albino red ears have been outside for almost thirty years, still producing. I have got several wc adult albinos that lived with the defect without a hitch. I would agree that it would make it really hard for them to make it but only because they stand out too much. As for the pet trade, she is my pet and I would have to make a pile of them before I would sell any. Money isnt why I have her, just because she is so awesome!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Those are great pix!!!

 

[diaboliqueturtle]

Wow, she is an absolute stunner!

 

[bdavison]

Thank you for not taking that as an attack. I am just curious. And I did not mean to imply that you would breed her just to make money. You clearly are enamored of her unique cuteness and seem just to be wanting to share It got me interested and I surfed around the internet on the subject. Fascinating!! (Yes, I had too much free time on my hands. I'm self employed and can go on tangents like that. I work all the time, am needing a break, and this is way more fun than doing laundry And it appears that you are correct. Most albino animals of any species seem to do pretty well. One could ague that an albino that makes it to adulthood in the wild is likely STRONGER somehow than its normal companions. There are some seriously cool looking albino anythings out there in the world! And many forms of it. I saw a picture of a wild cardinal that was split right down the middle of its body in color. Half red, half albino. Figure that out! Looks like many albino reptiles are bred intentionally to produce cool looking pets, and they do just fine. My research showed that in many animals, it is a recessive gene, which would make it hard to reproduce. Yet it doesn't seem to be so with reptiles. Can you breed her, and then breed her with one of her male offspring? This is how to get a trait to become more prominent in many fish, and does not generally cause the problems that are so common when trying this with mammals. Does it work well in reptiles?

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I have got several wc adult albinos that lived with the defect without a hitch.

What does wc stand for?

 

[Gerards]

What does wc stand for?

It means wild caught.

 

[theTurtleRoom]

What does wc stand for?

Wild-Caught.