Captive Bred Forum

Here is a selection of turtles and tortoises I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. They are a lot of fun! Some have been posted before, but many photos are new. And please excuse the quality of some of the photos, they were taken with about four different cameras over the last seven years.

When I worked at SREL, I helped to maintain the largest collection of Chinese Bigheaded turtles in the US, and possibly in the world. We had so many that we couldn't house them all at work, so I was able to take a pair home. These are some freaking AMAZING turtles. My roommates were leery of them- they said they could see the turtles calculating things in their minds. And indeed, they seemed to be very observant! They would often watch TV, and we caught them staring up at the lid of the aquarium several times, as if they were thinking about how to break out....
Platysternon megacephalum






A snail eater, Malayemys subtrijuga


One of about 50 Gulf Coast Spiny softshells I hatched one year, Apalone spinifera aspera


A pair of pancake tortoises, Malacochersus tornieri


A pancake doing what they do best....


One of my Indian stars, Geochelone elegans


Another Indian star


A juvenile radiated, Astrochelys radiata


Chinese Box turtle, or Yellow margined box turtle, Cuora flavomarginata


A pair of juvenile matamatas, Chelus fimbriatus


Six Spotted River turtles, Podocnemis unifilis


A rescued juvenile Aldabra, Aldabrachelys elephantopus


Same girl, this time awake


Some of my African spurred tortoises, Centrochelys sulcata


One of the sulcatas in a self-dug burrow. It is approximately 10 feet deep. I am lying on my stomach in the mouth of the burrow to get this shot.


A hatchling Painted River terrapin, Callagur borneoensis


Thanks for looking!

Great Pics!!! Keep them coming!!!

What are you feeding your African Spurs in that pic?

rescued aldabra? don't those sell for like 5-10k each? You'd think that'd be enough to prevent anyone from getting one casually.

Thanks Raul, spinifer and Paul!
I will certainly do my best to add some more photos up here soon. I've been sorting through my old photo folders and have quite a few I'd like to put up.

Spinifer, the stuff my sulcatas are eating is Tortoise Chow made by Mazuri. It is good stuff, and really puts the growth on them. I offer it on plates after sprinkling it with a little water to soften it, and they literally come running when they see me walking in the pen.

Paul, yes, one would think that the price tag on Aldabras would stop casual purchasers, but apparently not this one. I am actually the third (and hopefully last!) owner of this cutie.

Thanks for looking guys, and I'll put some more up soon!

Awesome photos!

Has anyone had much success breeding Platysternon in captivity? They are such neat turtles.

Also, you happen to know anyone who is a source for smooth softshells by any chance? Might have to settle for spinies in the end I have a feeling.

Joseph-
Thanks man!
As far as I am aware, very few people have had luck breeding Platysternon in captivity. There is a woman in Canada (Julie, perhaps?) who has done it a time or two, and I have seen pictures of the babies. They are neon green and orange, and ridiculously cute.
I don't think the colony I worked with ever even produced eggs, and still hasn't to my knowledge. It's the darnedest thing.

About the smooths, no, I sure don't know of anyone who keeps them. You may check out a guy named Eric who runs www.empireofttheturtle.com He's got a heck of a lot of stuff that he breeds pretty regularly, and if he doesn't have any smooths, he may know of some one who does!
I'll keep my ear out for you though.
--Berkeley