Breeding my cherry head

[MrsGREEN]

Footlocker is about 25. We want to breed him, but don't really know much about the whole thing. I know the female would have to be bigger than he is. What about age? Clearly it would have to be a full grown adult and kept in separate terrariums, but where do I get another? Are there people out there who 'stud' their torts for an egg split? I'm pretty sure all of the stores in the area only sell Russians. I would like to have babies to raise.

 

[N2TORTS]

Yes there are folks who " stud" animals.... as far as the girl being bigger that’s not true....
( she just has to be mature enough herself) . RF's aka " Cherrys " .. typically are more successful when there are two males. The competition seems to make the sperm count more viable as well as the female being more receptive to the male. This however is not always the case , as I'm sure there are folks who have bred successfully with just 2 torts. Also it may take a few years for any "herd" or "pair" to start producing for you.

JD~

 

[MrsGREEN]

So they can be in the same home? That would be amazing to have a companion for him. I would defiantly buy another if that were the case. Probably not another male though. I would just take the chance they don't mate.

 

[N2TORTS]

So they can be in the same home? That would be amazing to have a companion for him. I would defiantly buy another if that were the case. Probably not another male though. I would just take the chance they don't mate.

Sure ...if you have the proper set up , RF's tend to be one of the more "social torts" when kept in captivity. Although not all male/female will get along. There tends to be some mis info about two males or more just causes trouble and consistent fighting. I however do not find that in my case with the herd consisting of 3 Males and 12 females....all but 4 old enough to mate. During breeding times I do have signs of dominance with the alpha males but with adequate space and select females I don’t have any problems....that is the key .

 

[jackrat]

You can keep a pair together. If you have a pair,they will mate. After they get settled in together,you might start getting some eggs. It just takes a while sometimes. Tortoises do things at their own pace.

 

[MrsGREEN]

So they can be in the same home? That would be amazing to have a companion for him. I would defiantly buy another if that were the case. Probably not another male though. I would just take the chance they don't mate.

Sure ...if you have the proper set up , RF's tend to be one of the more "social torts" when kept in captivity. Although not all male/female will get along. There tends to be some mis info about two males or more just causes trouble and consistent fighting. I however do not find that in my case with the herd consisting of 3 Males and 12 females....all but 4 old enough to mate. During breeding times I do have signs of dominance with the alpha males but with adequate space and select females I don’t have any problems....that is the key .

That is awesome. Footlocker is VERY social with people and the cats don't scare him either. He is very friendly and likes to be spoken to, held, touched and he also watches TV with my kid. I have a 3'x7' enclosure, which I have read is enough for 2 torts, I have the space for one more terrarium if I stack them. I am really excited for this, but I am having a REALLY hard time finding another tort. My boy is big and I don't want the female getting hurt. Can you house more than 2 babies in a terrarium of that size? Some of them would be sold eventually. I would like to have a male, female and a baby or 2, the rest I would sell. I am even thinking big scale and possibly getting a bigger home and having some sort of store someday, but that is only today's thought, we have 2 other businesses currently.

---

You can keep a pair together. If you have a pair,they will mate. After they get settled in together,you might start getting some eggs. It just takes a while sometimes. Tortoises do things at their own pace.

You breed some beauts! Is shipping bad for them? There is virtually NOWHERE to buy a redfoot in MN. Do you have adults? I am looking into breeding myself.

---

So they can be in the same home? That would be amazing to have a companion for him. I would defiantly buy another if that were the case. Probably not another male though. I would just take the chance they don't mate.

Sure ...if you have the proper set up , RF's tend to be one of the more "social torts" when kept in captivity. Although not all male/female will get along. There tends to be some mis info about two males or more just causes trouble and consistent fighting. I however do not find that in my case with the herd consisting of 3 Males and 12 females....all but 4 old enough to mate. During breeding times I do have signs of dominance with the alpha males but with adequate space and select females I don’t have any problems....that is the key .

That is awesome. Footlocker is VERY social with people and the cats don't scare him either. He is very friendly and likes to be spoken to, held, touched and he also watches TV with my kid. I have a 3'x7' enclosure, which I have read is enough for 2 torts, I have the space for one more terrarium if I stack them. I am really excited for this, but I am having a REALLY hard time finding another tort. My boy is big and I don't want the female getting hurt. Can you house more than 2 babies in a terrarium of that size? Some of them would be sold eventually. I would like to have a male, female and a baby or 2, the rest I would sell. I am even thinking big scale and possibly getting a bigger home and having some sort of store someday, but that is only today's thought, we have 2 other businesses currently.

---

You can keep a pair together. If you have a pair,they will mate. After they get settled in together,you might start getting some eggs. It just takes a while sometimes. Tortoises do things at their own pace.

You breed some beauts! Is shipping bad for them? There is virtually NOWHERE to buy a redfoot in MN. Do you have adults? I am looking into breeding myself.

---

Reading your site, RF's can eat fruit every other day? That's great, he loves strawberries so much. He will come out of his hide just to eat them and he'll sometimes leave the greens behind. How often can I feed him egg?

 

[Madkins007]

This is not meant to dissuade you in any way, just to be a reality check so you know what you may be getting into.

1. Most of the better breeders are in the southeast, because it is a lot easier raising red-footeds outdoors. It can certainly be done further north, but it takes more effort.

2. Housing a single adult red-footed ideally should be about a 8x4' habitat, about 8x8' for up to four, if that is where it will be most of the time (although, admittedly, if you read a dozen authors, you'll get a dozen different opinions on this!) They tolerate crowding, but the more space they have the better. The size of the habitat also makes it tougher to offer the right heat, light, humidity, etc.- especially in the cooler, drier north.

3. Speaking of light, UVB lighting is important for successful breeding. Not a problem for outdoor torts, but very important for indoor animals.

4. While a single male and a single female certainly can mate, most keeper have found that small herds work better. This can be complicated by the fact that for most animals, animals that have been kept by themselves for a long time often do not show much interest in breeding. A herd can help change that. The animals do not all need to be the same age, just breeding size- and if you can, known breeders (although that will usually cost a chunk!)

5. Make sure you can identify a true 'red-phase Brazilian'- a real 'cherry-head' tort. A lot of colorful red-footeds are sold as 'cherry heads' since it is not any sort of species or legal term.

6. There is a saying in herpetological circles- breed snakes for profit, breed turtles for fun. Compared to other reptiles, tortoises are slow breeders. Even when sexually mature, it can take a few years for a female to really start laying eggs, and a few more years to really lay very many, or more fertile eggs. Patience is a real virtue here.

All of this is doable, but the more aware of things like this going into it, the more fun you'll have with the adventure!

As for a store- there used to be a great reptile specialty store in one of the suburbs of Minneapolis- but that was a couple decades ago. Probably long gone. You may also want to try the local herp society (http://www.mnherpsoc.com/ ) or look for local expos (http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-events/reptile-events.aspx )