How to Breed Terrapin Turtles

A male terrapin will seduce a mate by waving and shaking his claws at her. This will usually be done at night. Female terrapins deposit about 4 to 12 eggs at once. You can tell your male and female terrapins apart by their sizes. Full-grown males are smaller than full-grown females, and males have longer claws on their front flippers. Terrapins are more likely to breed if they're fed the correct diet, which includes chicken, fat-free pork or beef, shrimp and trout.

Things You'll Need

  • Incubator
  • Breeding box
  • Marker pen
  • Soil
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose two terrapins that are sexually mature. Terrapins are ready to breed not when they reach a certain age, but when they reach a certain length. Males must be 4 inches long and females 6 inches. Measure your terrapins to ensure they are the correct length. Generally, terrapins aged between 5 and 11 years old are sexually mature.

    • 2

      Separate the male and female terrapins two to three months before they are due to mate. The breeding season takes place throughout May. If your terrapins are kept outside, allow them to hibernate as normal, as this mimics being separated. Reintroduce your terrapins at the start of the breeding season. The act of being reintroduced to each other initiates mating activities. Mating might not be successful without separation.

    • 3

      Prepare a mating environment that includes land and water. Terrapins breed in the water but lay eggs on land. So in addition to their usual wet area, prepare a dry area of flat stones and gravel that the terrapins can easily climb onto.

    • 4

      Set up a breeding box for the female terrapin to lay her eggs. Fill a wooden or plastic box with moist sand or soil, at least 12 inches deep. Provide a ramp or rocks for the terrapin to use to climb into the box or sink the box into the terrain. She must have easy access to the box.

    • 5

      Move the eggs if they have been laid elsewhere on dry land. Handle them carefully because they are delicate. Do not turn them over because this causes damage; carefully mark the top of each egg with a marker pen to ensure they remain the right way up. Move the eggs to the box and bury them deep in the sand.

    • 6

      Set the temperature within the habitat. The sex of the offspring depends on the ambient temperature. Set it between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius for males and between 30 and 32 degrees Celsius for females. Do not set the temperature any higher, as this can deform the egg shells.

    • 7

      Separate the young from the adults when they hatch. Incubation takes around 60 to 120 days, so be vigilant for their emergence from the soil.