Breeding?

[Tropical Torts]

Hey everbody,
its been a while since i have posted on the forum but now that i have plenty of time I am look into breeding my redfoots. I currently have 1 male and 1 female of breeding size but as far as i can tell they havent been breeding. They are in an outdoor enclosure with apporximately 260 square feet of space. Half of the enclosure is shaded with lots of tropical plants and the other half is sunny and partially shade with grass with a grazing seed mix growing also.

I would like to breed redfoots as I mentioned before. I know i probably should get more females but im not quite sure what the best female/male ratio is. Also, should i divide the enclosure in half and separate them every now and then because I have had different sources say that this helps the males be more interested in the females.

What I am really looking for are some proved breeding tips from all of you experienced redfoot breeders out there.

All tips are appreciated and welcomed.
Thanks!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Good luck, redfoots are great!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi John:

I don't have RF tortoises, but my male YF is always interested in breeding. I've never kept him separate from the female.

I also have Manouria tortoises, and I've tried separating them. The first year I kept them all together. The next year I kept the male separate until the monsoon season (artificial sprinklers ), then put them together. It just seems to work better for me to keep them all together. He breeds all the females frequently all through out the year.

From what I've read here on the forum, redfoots seem to like to live in groups, so maybe its best to keep them together. But wait until you hear from someone who actually keeps and breeds them

Good luck with your project. Its a lot of fun to hatch out those babies!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Hi John:

I don't have RF tortoises, but my male YF is always interested in breeding. I've never kept him separate from the female.

I also have Manouria tortoises, and I've tried separating them. The first year I kept them all together. The next year I kept the male separate until the monsoon season (artificial sprinklers ), then put them together. It just seems to work better for me to keep them all together. He breeds all the females frequently all through out the year.

From what I've read here on the forum, redfoots seem to like to live in groups, so maybe its best to keep them together. But wait until you hear from someone who actually keeps and breeds them

Good luck with your project. Its a lot of fun to hatch out those babies!

Our small redfoot group 1.2 was also always kept together, they did great!

 

[jackrat]

Hey everbody,
its been a while since i have posted on the forum but now that i have plenty of time I am look into breeding my redfoots. I currently have 1 male and 1 female of breeding size but as far as i can tell they havent been breeding. They are in an outdoor enclosure with apporximately 260 square feet of space. Half of the enclosure is shaded with lots of tropical plants and the other half is sunny and partially shade with grass with a grazing seed mix growing also.

I would like to breed redfoots as I mentioned before. I know i probably should get more females but im not quite sure what the best female/male ratio is. Also, should i divide the enclosure in half and separate them every now and then because I have had different sources say that this helps the males be more interested in the females.

What I am really looking for are some proved breeding tips from all of you experienced redfoot breeders out there.

All tips are appreciated and welcomed.
Thanks!

What size/age are they? I have no trouble with my males breeding-it's all they want to do.Your enclosure sounds good.How long have you had them? Sometimes it takes a while for them to set up housekeeping,so to speak.Tortoises do things at their own pace,which can be a little slow at times.LOL Just give them what they need.Good food,exercise,sunshine,good soakings with the sprinkler are all things they love.

 

[Geochelone_Carbonaria]

As far as I know you should at least have more than one male so the females can choose the "best" of them. The optimal ratio is 1:2, so if you only have one male, there should be at least two females, and even better would then be two males and at least four females.

 

[Tropical Torts]

Thanks for the input guys!

jackrat: my female is a little over 13 inches and the male is 12 inches and i have had them for about 9 months.

I hope to get 2 more females this summer, also does anyone have any tips on building a nesting box or is that unnecessary?

thanks!

 

[Madkins007]

It is probably not necessary.

CDMay (Carl) once sent me a WONDERFUL email on breeding Red-foots that I posted almost unaltered in the Library- http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/incubate.com

It does not discuss GETTING them to breed, which I hope to wheedle out of him someday soon! But I have always read that a good small breeding herd was 2:3 Red-foots, with the basic recommendation being having a couple males, and more females than males. They do need some time to settle in to a new place, and often rainy seasons trigger the behaviors.

Now, when you say they are breeding size, what do you mean?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

It is probably not necessary.

CDMay (Carl) once sent me a WONDERFUL email on breeding Red-foots that I posted almost unaltered in the Library- http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/incubate.com

It does not discuss GETTING them to breed, which I hope to wheedle out of him someday soon! But I have always read that a good small breeding herd was 2:3 Red-foots, with the basic recommendation being having a couple males, and more females than males. They do need some time to settle in to a new place, and often rainy seasons trigger the behaviors.

Now, when you say they are breeding size, what do you mean?

I can testify to the rainy season triggering behaviors, for sure!

 

[matt41gb]

Yes, lots of rain, or simulated rain. Warm, humid weather is a plus. I will turn the sprinklers on them, and it really triggers the males to seek out the females. Soak the ground until it creates a standing water puddle. Also, if you leave them alone and let them acclimate to their surroundings, they will be more likely to breed.

-Matt

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Yes, lots of rain, or simulated rain. Warm, humid weather is a plus. I will turn the sprinklers on them, and it really triggers the males to seek out the females. Soak the ground until it creates a standing water puddle. Also, if you leave them alone and let them acclimate to their surroundings, they will be more likely to breed.

-Matt

Matt, we do the same thing, especially for our aldabra colony. Even if it does not rain, it rains here every day during the season, artificially, lol..... .....