Eastern hermanns help and space help

[jadan9163]

Hello all i am new to the tortoise field. I have had turtles all my life and i got two eastern hermanns tortoise a month ago. Im trying to start projects with acouple different types of tortoises but want to make sure i know EVERYTHING i can before moving on to the next. I am wanting to breed my hermanns. But i have acouple questions.
1. i have them in an 8x2 ft wooden enclosure and my male tortoise keeps randomly buying my female. I saw that it could mean that hes wanting to mate but i also want what is best for my babies so I’m not quite sure what to do
2. I have a little deck outside of my door it’s kind of weird but i was wanting to maybe make it their outside enclosure for when its warm. Im needing some ideas so if anyone has something like it if you could post pictures or anything it would really help. I can post a picture if need be.
3. If i want them to mate is there something i need to do?
4. what is a good way to keep space with wooden enclosure? I have more than just tortoises. I can take a picture of the reptile room but i really just want whatever i can take on advice.

 

[Ink]

Separate them please. He is bullying the other one and can injure her. Search on the forum keeping pairs..it is never good

 

[bonsai tortoise]

8x2 isn’t bad but the larger the better. I wouldn’t necessarily add anymore to something that size unless the group is very well established. But you should keep them outside as much as possible. If keeping them outside isn’t an option right away put things in their enclosure so there are sight barriers. Sometimes when the male loses sight of the female he loses interest. If that doesn’t work, go with two separate enclosures until you can build them something large enough for her to get refuge. In a large outdoor enclosure it would be good to add a couple more females. If you have an overly eager male he will likely never leave one female alone. But if he can set his sights on others it tends to spread it out and give the females a break. Keeping a pair is tough. I’ve had success with Greeks in pairs but it really depends on the demeanor of the individual animals. But one male to 3-4 females would be best in a larger enclosure. And if that’s not possible, separate them because he could stress her out to the point that she wears down and that’s never good.