MBD tortoise

[Wartortle]

So I rescued a russian tortoise earlier this year and we are planning on taking the side yard of our house and making one large tortoise enclosure. It will have plenty of sight barriers, but we are worried about our little MBD tortoise with the males. She is doing well and is happy to be on a good diet and in sunlight, but her shell is depressed in the back and she isn't rounded like she should be. At this point, we will probably keep her alone in the old enclosure, but my question is if it would be dangerous for her to be with the males and for her to have eggs. Again- my plans are to keep her separate, so don't think I'm endangering her. Just is it dangerous for her to have eggs is all?

 

[dmmj]

Yes, dep. on how bad the shell is, if she becomes gravid, eggs could pose a serious risk. It might be better if she has no male contact.

 

[Yvonne G]

You said "maleS" What will your male/female ratio be? Even with only one male, a lone female will be hounded almost to death. Here's an informative thread for you to read:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/

Pay attention to the sentence about how injured and infected the female's cloaca was from the constant attention from the male.

 

[Jacqui]

I would have a lot of worries about IF her body could ever take the strain and drain on her system with having had MBD. Her current life may be improved, but I don't think the entire deletion factor from MBD ever leaves totally. I also agree with David on how she could have problems laying eggs. I would keep her isolated from ANY other tortoise due to the fact that even being with another female may trigger her to make eggs or the female could mount her and also stimulate egg production.

 

[Wartortle]

I understand and completely agree with all above statements. I just wanted to confirm my fears and will absolutely keep her separate from everyone else. Better to check the facts instead of going against your first instincts and make the wrong decision, right? Thanks everyone