Are the TMNT biologically related?

[Bravotello]

Originally Posted by Nortock Diab

I believe this could turn into a fascinating storyline and would lead readers to question their conception of family.

It is in the core of TMNT that family goes beyond blood ties, so keeping on exploring this thematic that way would have a great potential.

Imagine the turtles find out that 3 of them are actually blood brothers while the 4th one is not. How would they react?
In my opinion, that is a very interesting starting point that deserves to be developped.

Whoaaaa that is an awesome idea! I'd love to see someone do that.

[Wildcat]

The "3 of them are 1 is not" idea would be interesting but I doubt it would change anything.

Anyway it just depends how you want it to be. If you want them to be then ya.

[Jester]

I always saw TMNT as an unintentional love letter to families of adoption. If the boys are "blood brothers" or not matters very little. What matters is that Splinter raised them as brothers.

[LuckyLadybug]

What confuses me is that I always thought every incarnation except Next Mutation had them as biologically related, yet in the 1987 series, I think I've only found one instance where they're referred to as brothers at all. (Splinter says "Your brother Turtles" to Donatello in season ... 5 or 6, I believe.) Usually in the 87 series, they call each other friends or buds, so it rather seems that in the 87 incarnation, they're not brothers and also don't think of each other as such?

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by Jester

I always saw TMNT as an unintentional love letter to families of adoption. If the boys are "blood brothers" or not matters very little. What matters is that Splinter raised them as brothers.

^^^^^
This.

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the waters of the womb.

[Rooish]

Well, how do pet shops work? Do they usually sell a whole bunch of unrelated baby turtles or is it generally a litter, per se?

I like to think the Turtles don't know and don't really want to. It would be interesting if they had to find out to deal with some medical issue.

I always wondered, on this topic, why the Fred Wolf cartoon so adamantly avoided any mention of family, for the most part. They obviously were a family, but called each other "pals" or"pupils/students" or "sensei" or whatever.

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by Rooish

Well, how do pet shops work? Do they usually sell a whole bunch of unrelated baby turtles or is it generally a litter, per se?

I like to think the Turtles don't know and don't really want to. It would be interesting if they had to find out to deal with some medical issue.

I always wondered, on this topic, why the Fred Wolf cartoon so adamantly avoided any mention of family, for the most part. They obviously were a family, but called each other "pals" or"pupils/students" or "sensei" or whatever.

I don't really know much about the reptile breeding industry, but I'd imagine that small scale breeders would be far more likely to maintain clutch integrity.

That said, it's illegal in the US to sell hatchlings for non-educational purposes.

And turtles grow with conditions, and not necessarily with regards to age, so they could all be the same size, but have their ages differ slightly.

[Candy Kappa]

Yeah. It's illegal to sell turtles under 6 inches in shell length in the US, meaning store bough turtles are far from "babies" but fully mature turtles regardless of age. A male Slider can reach maturity in optimal conditions within 12 months, while the usual time is 2-5 years to reach proper maturity.

[Tetsu Deinonychus]

I always like to think they are biologically related (despite different colors in some versions), and the "adoption" element is still there with Splinter as their father. But, I have no proof of that and in the long run it doesn't matter because they're a family either way.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

That said, it's illegal in the US to sell hatchlings for non-educational purposes.

https://myturtlestore.com/baby-turtles-for-sale/

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

https://myturtlestore.com/baby-turtles-for-sale/

My bad, it's under 4 inches.

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scrip...cfm?fr=1240.62

Keep in mind there are plenty of loopholes for people to exploit.

[DestronMirage22]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

That said, it's illegal in the US to sell hatchlings for non-educational purposes.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

https://myturtlestore.com/baby-turtles-for-sale/

Yeah, any of you guys ever been to Chinatown in Cali? Seriously, EVERYONE over there sells baby Red Eared Sliders for dirt cheap. And, unfortunately, nobody ever stops them.

[neatoman]

Can someone explain why selling hatchlings is illegal? Does it mess them up being sold so young or something?

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by neatoman

Can someone explain why selling hatchlings is illegal? Does it mess them up being sold so young or something?

Fear of salmonella and the life expectancy of a hatchling is 1 year in the hands of a ignorant pet owner.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Tetsu Deinonychus

(despite different colors in some versions)

I dunno, I don't think different coloration is a deal breaker for possible blood siblings. While my sister and I may both be fair skinned, side by side we're still noticeably different tones. Doubt that's uncommon and why not similar for mutant Turtles.




Anyway. Still satisfied with my own theory in a prior comment; works out reasonably well to me.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Nortock Diab

I believe this could turn into a fascinating storyline and would lead readers to question their conception of family.

It is in the core of TMNT that family goes beyond blood ties, so keeping on exploring this thematic that way would have a great potential.

Imagine the turtles find out that 3 of them are actually blood brothers while the 4th one is not. How would they react?
In my opinion, that is a very interesting starting point that deserves to be developped.

I like that too! Might have to think about a possible story there.

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

My favored personal theory... Same turtle parents, same owner with a breeding pair, but hatched different seasons/nests to explain supposed age differences; Leo separately, Donnie and Raph from the same nest (since it has always been debatable who's older between the two), then Mikey separately.

Someone has mentioned before that legally turtles have to be a certain size to be sold. Leo was a slowpoke in growing (slow and steady toward 'perfection' after all), Donnie and Raph average, and Mikey was fast and caught up quick (a big appetite from the start fueling that), all hitting the right size around the same time and sold to a little local pet store together. (And if human Yoshi bought them then info on ages possibly passed on to him.)

Blood brothers, but only two are nest mates.

I love this! It makes perfect sense for why the FW version all had different birthdays. Maybe Splinter found out when they were hatched somehow.

Originally Posted by Rooish

Well, how do pet shops work? Do they usually sell a whole bunch of unrelated baby turtles or is it generally a litter, per se?

I like to think the Turtles don't know and don't really want to. It would be interesting if they had to find out to deal with some medical issue.

I always wondered, on this topic, why the Fred Wolf cartoon so adamantly avoided any mention of family, for the most part. They obviously were a family, but called each other "pals" or"pupils/students" or "sensei" or whatever.

Having raised and bred both fish and hamsters growing up- my mom sold hamsters to a local pet shop- I imagine turtles are about the same. Small animals are usually sold to shops in batches usually of the same size/age. The reason is that older animals often crowd out their younger/smaller fellows. Also, animals raised in the same conditions usually grow around the same rate unless there are particularly aggressive individuals pushing others away from food- most responsible breeders would seperate these "bullies" so the rest can get their share. So the turtles in a given pet shop usually wilk have cone from the same breeder and most likely are from the same clutch or from several that hatched at the same time. And most breeders use the same breeding stock regularly, so- the TMNT probably ARE brothers.

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

I dunno, I don't think different coloration is a deal breaker for possible blood siblings. While my sister and I may both be fair skinned, side by side we're still noticeably different tones. Doubt that's uncommon and why not similar for mutant Turtles.

Anyway. Still satisfied with my own theory in a prior comment; works out reasonably well to me.

I tend to see it as a simple evolution of their markings. All turtles have unique markings that are like fingerprints. So maybe the coloration is like the stripes on a tiger- it just makes them individuals!

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by MsMarvelDuckie

I like that too! Might have to think about a possible story there.

I actually had a fan fiction plot with this. This was originally thought up before Bishop turned out to be an utrom in the current show.

What I had thought up is that the Turtles are captured by Bishop while they are unconscious he takes blood and tissue samples from all of them. Then later when they wake up, Bishop taunts them about their predicament. During the exchange, Leo tells Bishop that he can do what he wants with him, but he should let his three brothers go. Bishop then points out that only two of his companions are his brothers. When he had been examining their DNA he found one of them was genetically a stranger. All the turtles are mixed about this, with Raph saying that Bishop was making it up to scare them, Mikey is confused over which of them isn't their brother. Leo tells them it doesn't matter. And Donnie suggests there is a possibility that one of them could be genetically a stranger since they all hatched from eggs. It's not that far-fetched that one of them could have been originally from another clutch.

After the Turtles are able to escape, Donnie offers to do a DNA test on his brothers and himself simply so they can put the matter to bed. When the results are printed out Donnie tells his brothers that the three of them are related, but he isn't.

Donnie is somewhat down about this because it feels like everything he's known was never there. Leo then approaches him and says "Okay, so the test says we aren't related, but what truly matters is what you believe. Splinter raised the four of us as his sons, and our whole lives we have seen and thought of each other as brothers. And just because one person said that you aren't related to the rest of us, that doesn't make the former any less true."

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

https://myturtlestore.com/baby-turtles-for-sale/

What what what? Someone on the internet doing something illegal?
To HELL you say!

Oh they're from Florida, well that explains that.
Those are the kind of jackholes releasing reticulated pythons into the everglades.

Wonder if anyone's ever turned them in.
Oooh a project!

edit:
Oh look at these lovely lines of fine print:

You agree to use your Turtle that you receive from MyTurtleStore.com for a bona fide scientific, educational, export or exhibit purpose only.

You agree to remain in compliance with all state and federal laws that pertain to possessing a Turtle. You also agree that you have contacted the necessary individuals and determined that it is legal for you to own or posses a Turtle in your state for reasons of bona fide scientific, educational or export purposes and that these are the reasons you wish to obtain a Turtle from MyTurtleStore.com

You agree that any Turtle with a carapace length of less than four inches that you obtained from MyTurtleStore.com will not be used as a pet in any way, shape or form.

You agree that you will not hold MyTurtleStore.com or anyone that is associated with MyTurtleStore.com under any legal liability for any reason that may arise from owning or possessing a Turtle

Pursuant to Florida Law, enacted July 1, 2007, a ban was put in place regarding the sale of a Non-native species, the Red Ear Slider within the State of Florida. Any Red Ear Sliders ordered will be substituted for a species that is not banned within the State of Florida, for example Yellow Belly Slider or Mississippi Map Turtle.

Pursuant to Massachusetts Law, a ban was put in place regarding the sale of the Red Ear Slider Turtle within the State of Massachusetts. Any Red Ear Sliders ordered will automatically be substituted for a species that is not banned within the State of Massachusetts, for example Yellow Belly Slider or Mississippi Map Turtle.

Pursuant to Oregon Law, a ban was put in place regarding the sale of turtles and tortoises within the State of Oregon. Any orders containing turtles and or tortoises will be automatically cancelled and refunded. If the order also contains products the customer will be called or e-mailed first to find out if they would like the products cancelled as well.

Pursuant to Maine Law, a ban was put in place regarding the sale of certain turtles and tortoises within the State of Maine. Any orders containing these banned turtles and or tortoises will be automatically put on hold until the customer is contacted and a different animal that is not banned is selected.

Originally Posted by DestronMirage22

Yeah, any of you guys ever been to Chinatown in Cali? Seriously, EVERYONE over there sells baby Red Eared Sliders for dirt cheap. And, unfortunately, nobody ever stops them.

My RES was bought by my cousin on a beach boardwalk that just so happened to be across the street from a State Police station.
It was $10 for the six by three container, and then you could put as many turtles in it as you wanted.

See? Not selling the turtles, just the container!

She chose two, one died a month later because she had no idea how to take care of reptiles. I swooped in and rescued the other one not long after, when the cousin realized he'd be a foot and a half long fully grown, and potentially live over 30 years.

So yeah, it happens. It happens a lot. It shouldn't, but it does.
And thanks to it happening RES are now illegal to own in MA.
Mine's just barely grandfathered in, and I'm not exactly looking forward to the rigamarole that'd follow if I had to rehome the little blighter.

[Candy Kappa]

I've seen legit discussions on breeding RES with dwarfism since that would "fix" the size "problem".

The breeding industry is a bit creepy and feels on par with pure dog breeding when it comes to Albinos, Lubinos, Caramels and Pastel Sliders. And the price is insane from $150-$500 depending on the type.

[Raptor86]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

I dunno, I don't think different coloration is a deal breaker for possible blood siblings. While my sister and I may both be fair skinned, side by side we're still noticeably different tones. Doubt that's uncommon and why not similar for mutant Turtles.




Anyway. Still satisfied with my own theory in a prior comment; works out reasonably well to me.

I agree with you. I owned red-eared slider turtles before, and the female was very light green and the male was dark green. I guess that the skin color of their offspring would have been of different nuances of green