# Tortoises live a long time, but when do they start having kids?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tortoises-live-a-long-time-but-when-do-they-start-having-kids/411323>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 11, 2007, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tortoises-live-a-long-time-but-when-do-they-start-having-kids/411323 "2007-07-11T03:25:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tortoises-live-a-long-time-but-when-do-they-start-having-kids/411323/1 "2007-07-11T03:25:05Z")

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Pretty much what the OP says. How old does a tortoise/turtle/terrapin have to be before before it can have children?

Bob also asks the question “Where do tortoises keep their testicles”?

We have an … interesting marriage. 😃

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**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tortoises-live-a-long-time-but-when-do-they-start-having-kids/411323/2 "2007-07-11T09:14:34Z")

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They don’t – it’s goats that have kids. 🙂

Seriously, the giant tortoises (from Aldabra & Galapagos Islands, for example) seem to start breeding once they reach about 1/2 of their full size. Since this would depend on many things in their environment, such as the availability of food, etc., this would tend to vary a fair amount, rather than being a specific age.

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tortoises-live-a-long-time-but-when-do-they-start-having-kids/411323/3 "2007-07-11T09:21:11Z")

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[QUOTE=Zyada]  
Bob also asks the question “Where do tortoises keep their testicles”?  
[/QUOTE]  
Reptiles keep their gonads inside their bodies - the scrotum is a mammalian thing.

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tortoises-live-a-long-time-but-when-do-they-start-having-kids/411323/4 "2007-07-11T12:15:06Z")

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What **t-bonham** said.