Russian hybrids?
- Thread starter satdiver
- Start date
No thank you. He's not a good source for tortoise care info. Videos like this just cement that fact.
Touch sensitive? What does that mean? If it means we don't condone or encourage practices that cause death and harm to tortoises, then I am guilty as charged.
TeamZissou
Well-Known Member
Me too. The 4-5 subspecies of Russians seem hard to distinguish as it is based almost entirely on shell shape. My sense is that mixing Russian subspecies happens a lot.
Russian Subspecies
I finally got around to taking pictures :D The first is T.h.horsfieldii. They are domed and almost as wide as they are long. T.h.horsfieldii The next is T.h.rustamovi. They are domed, but long and narrow. T.h.rustamovi Danny[hr] Next is T.h.kazachstanica. They are flat and...
tortoiseforum.org
IMO species hybrids are messed up.
Hack this guy is!
Wow, money isn't everything! To put life and species saving/purity on the line for money is very sad state of mind.
That's what called puppy mills/backyard breeders in the dog world, which is the worst of the worst scum!
Thomas tortoise
Well-Known Member
look again this may seem a little mean but please don't take it the wrong way...Leocatas is what leopards and sully hybrids is called and I think they look adorable so I decided to ask why we can't keep breeding them! I didn't ask for this argument! Just drop it already. I learned why we can't breed them so I already dropped it. So you should too.
Thomas tortoise
Well-Known Member
I saw that a few days ago... Lamp kenen has pretty bad info.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2014
- Messages
- 29,109
- Location (City and/or State)
- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Kenan does most everything in a way that is convenient for him.
A lot of it is just wrong for many reasons and it harms the hobby (Industry?)
The videos are entertaining. But they are far from educational
To go back to the original question: YES an RT 'can' produce viable babies with another Testudo species. In an UK group, someone has a Greek/RT mix that happened unintentionally (but why the breeder incubated the eggs, I don't know). It's cute. But in my opinion, wrong.
I know some Redfoot/leopard mixes exist here in the US, and the leopard/sulcata mixes mentioned above. And in Asia, I've seen mixes of everything under the sun (including radiata x sulcata, ploughshare x leopard, etc..... WHYYYY???!).
Should we do it? NO. That's a hard NO for me, because it is hard enough to maintain species integrity within our US tortoise populations as it is, so mixing in other species has the potential to bring the animals even further from the wild population we are trying to save.
I know some Redfoot/leopard mixes exist here in the US, and the leopard/sulcata mixes mentioned above. And in Asia, I've seen mixes of everything under the sun (including radiata x sulcata, ploughshare x leopard, etc..... WHYYYY???!).
Should we do it? NO. That's a hard NO for me, because it is hard enough to maintain species integrity within our US tortoise populations as it is, so mixing in other species has the potential to bring the animals even further from the wild population we are trying to save.
Just imagine a tort the size of a sully with the attitude of a Russian. 💩 it would wreck everything and ram anything!
Okay, what were you thinking of mixing them with? What is the gain? Besides the money. Would you breed it to something prettier, flashier? Or what?
Uhm, sulcata already have the attitude if a Russian on steroids. They will ram or dig their way through drywall.
But do they climb like monkeys and ram you at every opportunity! I got my hands full with my little Russian 🤣
Thomas tortoise
Well-Known Member
I know this was just a joke but may I point out. A Russian would be squashed if the sulcata tried breeding with it and the Russian would not be able to get on the sulcata. So technically that is impossible and a Russian sully hybrid would make the Russian a lot bigger so he would not be able to lift himself of the ground. But other than that you made me Lol!
hybrids , imo, are a scourge to the hobby ....it's not that uncommon for a hybrid to be fertile .......... how much do you think an albino leopard tortoise would be worth ???? or an albino redfoot ???? i have a fairly good understanding of the plasticity of genetics .... myself when i see some uncommon color morphs pop up i wonder where the genes came from .....i've recently seen an albino painted turtle , i then wonder if painted turtles and red eared sliders can be bred together ...i read an article called "the counterfeit golden coin turtle" another about 3 hybrid cuora that have turned up never found in the wild ............
