Is my female too large for my male?

[Christiaan]

After searching high and low I was finally able to acquire a large female Redfoot tortoise I have 2 males and the larger one just sits in a muddy corner all day and shows no interest the smaller Cherryhead is very persistent and mounts her without hesitation I just don't know if he's big enough to actually get the job done.

Also my larger male just kind of wedges himself into a corner and doesn't move much throughout the day could he be sick? He does eat though.

 

[JoesMum]

Your female is so large compared with the other two that she's undoubtedly bullying.

Separation time. The one that is hiding in the corner all the time is the principal victim.

 

[Redstrike]

I would add that two males to one female is a recipe for disaster. Cherryhead males are notoriously aggressive toward each other, that male could be bullying the redfoot male to keep him away from your female.

I think a1:3 male:female ratio is a good goal. I know you probably don't want to hear that and I'm sorry to say it!!!

 

[Christiaan]

I know my ratio is not ideal but I just couldn't resist the pricing on some of em. I was in talks to acquire 4 females but that fell through. Should I separate the Cherryhead or the other guy?

 

[Yvonne G]

When you have a large group of RF tortoises, such as what N2Torts has, they seem to get along a whole lot better than the ratio that you have.

As to your size question, I have a pretty small male leopard tortoise...small compared to the females in his yard...and he gets the job done nicely. He's about half the size of his girls.

I'm a purist, so I would move the cherry head to his own yard.

 

[Redstrike]

If it were me, I would probably isolate the cherryhead until you can get more females.

If you leave the cherry with the female, he may dog her to breed constantly and stress her out. This could lead to more complications down the road.
On the other hand, the size disparity may allow for the larger female to put the male in his place. This is not an easy issue and I would probably try to isolate the lead instigator.

I'm making a lot of assumptions here. I don't know your herd, so please use your own observations to make an informed decision. Bear in mind bullying can be very subtle.

 

[cdmay]

When you have a large group of RF tortoises, such as what N2Torts has, they seem to get along a whole lot better than the ratio that you have.

As to your size question, I have a pretty small male leopard tortoise...small compared to the females in his yard...and he gets the job done nicely. He's about half the size of his girls.

I'm a purist, so I would move the cherry head to his own yard.

Agree. Like African cichlids, having a larger group of tortoises in one enclosure (as opposed to just a couple of males and a female or two) actually disperses the aggression. If you have a male cherry-head (like you do) the likelihood of male to male aggression is much higher. Males of the northern populations of red-footed tortoises seem to be much more tolerant of each other. Cherry-head males can be real pissants when there is another male around.

Like Yvonne I too am a purist--I would not let the male cherry-head breed the female northern. You'll get nice looking hatchlings for sure, but then what? Will the people who eventually end up with those offspring know what they are? My worry is that the red-footed tortoises in captivity will go the way of captive Boa constrictors where all of the unique populations and beautiful regional variants have been blurred into one giant pool of nondescript and unidentifiable mutts.

As for size? Oh yeah, that male is little but I bet he's up to the task

 

[Christiaan]

I would prefer keep the bloodlines pure, my only restriction is space I have searched high and low but I can't seem to find many non imported females these days.

 

[cmacusa3]

I would prefer keep the bloodlines pure, my only restriction is space I have searched high and low but I can't seem to find many non imported females these days.

So why would you continue to get more plus Leopards if you are that restricted by space?

 

[Christiaan]

I have my backyard broken into sections I have the space just not the materials at the moment which is what I meant by my restriction.

 

[dmmj]

tortoises seem to live the Sir Mix-A-Lot Credo to the extreme. To paraphrase they do like big tortoises and they cannot lie. I'm also a purist not to beat a dead horse or anything. I would separated the cherry-head personally

 

[allegraf]

After searching high and low I was finally able to acquire a large female Redfoot tortoise I have 2 males and the larger one just sits in a muddy corner all day and shows no interest the smaller Cherryhead is very persistent and mounts her without hesitation I just don't know if he's big enough to actually get the job done.

Also my larger male just kind of wedges himself into a corner and doesn't move much throughout the day could he be sick? He does eat though.View attachment 187612View attachment 187613

Was the male more outgoing before you got the cherryhead? Is he wc? It may be bullying or sickness. You may want to get the northern male checked out.