[split] Will my tortoises mate?

[jeffreyc1203]

hello i have an adult female russian tortoise. it haven't lay eggs. i just got a female Herman's tortoise and i want her to lay eggs. do you know a place where you can take tortoises to breed. I don't want to buy a male Herman's tortoise because i have a female russian tortoise inside the enclosure. I need some suggestions

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: female hermans tortoise

Hi Jeffrey, and welcome to the Forum!

The males of the mediterranean species of tortoise are generally pretty aggressive when paired with a female. It is a good idea to have a fairly large outdoor pen with plenty of sight barriers so the female can get out of his sight hand have some respite from his advances.

A couple of other things for you to think about:

New tortoises should be quarantined in their own, separate pen for a while. I usually do a 3 month quarantine.

Breeding groups do better with a one male to two or three female ratio.

 

[jeffreyc1203]

RE: female hermans tortoise

thank you. i would like to get a male but i have a female russian tortoise in the enclose. i don't want to mix them. do you know a place where you can breed tortoises?

 

[Tom]

RE: female hermans tortoise

Another alternative that some people like is to house the tortoises separately and just put them together for breeding occasionally.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jeffrey and any other new member:

I have removed some of your duplicate posts off of other people's threads. It is impolite to change the subject of someone's thread and ask your own question. And it is counter-productive for you to continue to ask the same question over and again all over the Forum. One thread is all you need. If someone knows the answer they will post an answer.

So, now to your question...

Because most of us quarantine our tortoises before adding new tortoises, the idea of 'stud service' is not an option in the tortoise world. You just can't take your female to be bred because the owner of the male would want to quarantine her for at least a month and maybe up to three months before putting her with the male. And this is even more critical because your Hermann's has been living with a Russian. Russian tortoises are usually wild caught and full of parasites because of the poor conditions they are kept in during capture and shipping.

 

[Tom]

And tortoise should not be housed in pairs, and species should not be mixed.