no i dont think so. As i say, whats more "cruel" to the tort? getting it sterilised because WE dont want our pets to breed? Or letting the male live apart but still be able to smell female tort totty?! or letting them get on with it, as they are supposed too and then just not providing the conditions to let the eggs develop. I guess its no different really to people taking the morning after pill. After all, they are NOT babies , they are eggs with the potential to be tortoises. As i have said, i will not be incubating every egg, as when all of my females are capable of laying 12 eggs in a clutch , thats maybe 100 babies a year. thats alot of tortoise tables, nutrobal and weeds. but i will incubate some of the eggs.

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The smaller the tortoises the easier... just a question of going through a small incision in front of the hind leg... a snip, snip here and a snip, snip there... voila... sterilized.

It is commonly done in the states.

Check out my post on surgically sexing a tortoise.

The larger the tortoise the more difficult it gets especially if any of the follicals have developed into eggs.

Ed

If you sell them wholesale... at least 50 pounds each x 100 = 5000 pounds = equals a sweet little pice of chicken scratch... yea... that just wouldn't be right.

Ed

i will let you into a little secret Ed, i am not in the slightest bit motivated by money in ANY way shape or form. i have qualifications spewing out of every brain cell and i dont use them because i refuse to go to work every day to a job that i hate.

i work to live and only work when i have to to pay the bills. We dont do the whole rat race thing and i have zero debts ( not even a credit card) and zero finance. so to be honest, i dont need £5k. i would only spend it on more tortoises and reps......and maybe a little towards the electric bill!

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It doesn't have to be a motivation... you'd probably starve.

It's called a benefit... heck... if your that well off... you can send it to the Tortoise Keepers relief fund... to help take care of all the critters in Eds collection.

That would translate to 10K here in the US... maybe a little less.

Is profiting off your animals a bad thing????

Ed

i dont mind proffiting on anything Ed, providing its legal of course! its a matter of me REALLY not needing the money that much i suppose. Dont get me wrong if i had a clutch of eggs of each of the girls i have , i WOULD incubate them and if they hatched, sell most of the babies.

I am planning on breeding my bearded dragons next season and should be able to make enough to cover my costs in keeping the parents atleast. But i dont know if i have the space for all thos baby torts, or even the time needed to care for them.

It would mean me having to sacrifice something else, maybe work, or time with the kids, or my own free time. the whole point of me NOT working full time, and only when i need to, is so i can spend time with my family, go to the school play, make cookies and muffins, finish my degree, write articles and help at the kids school. normal mum stuff.

how much space would you need for 100 baby leopard tortoises anyway? and how many basking lamps? i cant even imagine it in my head!

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Not as much space as you might think. I've done it a few times.

Sweater boxes go a long way... rather than heat lamps a heated room is more efficient.

Ed