Albino turtles ??!!??

[Tj]

I am in the market for a turtle, and i recently saw some amazing albino turtles. It was the first time I have ever seen them and I was blown away. I was wondering If anyone knew of a place i could check out for them. Also, how often does an albino come around in a turtle. I am 22 and have never seen one until about a month ago. I didn't even know they existed,

[Doug]

Re: Albino turtles ??!!??

HI,
I can't answer all your question about the frequency of albino occuring in wild caught animals. My guess is some turtle breeders have managed to find a couple over time and are trying to breed hets for albino to increase the odds considerably of having an albino.  My experience with other animals that are albino's have decreased pigments and are much more likely develope skin lesions  (CANCER) If exposed to direct sunlight. Turtles need UVA and UVB light to be healthy they may have a problem as adults, just not sure..   Most nocturnal animals or animals that donot require light to be healthy proably wouldn't be a problem.. Maybe contact that Abbott turtle farm and see if they know anyone trying to breed albino sliders or red ears, I am assuming you meant water turtles.
one of my favorite tortises are the red foots the don't get to big and are fairly easy to keep and considerable information is available as to animal husbandry and diet.
  heck they are just to cute. smaller than most and easy to care for donot require the work a water turtle requires, they are great to let out with supervision and graze on grasses and vegtables in the back yard, I am thinking about building a large turtle corral in my back yard with cinder blocks and keeping a few..
.
   
[ftp]http://www.abbottsturtlefarm.com/[/ftp]
    Doug 8)

[Tj]

Re: Albino turtles ??!!??

thanks for the info doug....i checked out that abbott website and it looks like they have some pretty good animals there....that radiated tortoise is beautiful....well out of my price range i am sure though....hehe....anyway..thanks again for the info..i am still looking up info on turtles and tortoises...I haven't exactly figured out what i want to get yet...

[J.D.J]

Re: Albino turtles ??!!??

Hi TJ,

After I read your post, I thought I would do a search and look at some albino turtles myself. I came across this site http://www.chelydra.org/albino_pg.html and it has some great pictures and an information page.

You may have or may not have already seen it, but here it is.

[Tj]

Re: Albino turtles ??!!??

yeah i found that page too jeff....it does have some good pics....my fav was the asian