Offspring with parents...

[Alyssadaun]

Hello! My Russian tortoises have laid an egg. It's in an incubator right now and I'm hoping for fertility this time My question is...I was planning on getting another girl tortoise in the future because I only have 2 females with my one male and I want for ratio to be 3:1. If this egg hatches and is a female, am I able to keep her with her parents (aka her dad)? If papa tortoise mates with her will it cause problems?

I really want to keep my first female baby that hatches...and since I needed another girl anyway I really am hoping they could all be housed together!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

It will take years for you to find out whether this baby is male or female. Much simpler to buy another female, quarantine it for a few months, and try to introduce it to your group. Understand that russians are very territorial and aggressive and the new introduction may or may not work. If it doesn't work, you'll have to house this girl all alone for as long as you have her.

Here is some general care info for the species and some tips on how to start babies:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-incubate-eggs-and-start-hatchlings.124266/

 

[Alyssadaun]

Thank you for the info! I might just keep the baby separated for awhile then.