# Russian tortoise trying to mate



## I Love Dino (Oct 28, 2013)

I got another Russian tortoise on October 21! I named her Daisy. Dino is trying to mate with her, but I think Daisy is not ready for mating. I think she is not ready for mating because the Russian tortoise book said that the size for a male tortoise to mate is about 5 inches (bottom shell),and for females it is about 10 inches(bottom shell) is that true?


----------



## MikeCow1 (Oct 28, 2013)

Never seen a female Russian that big. I'd say about 6" total length


----------



## ascott (Oct 28, 2013)

Female I believe should be somewhere 6+" however, it does not matter to the male if she is ready....I would also suggest to not house a pair together (especially male and male or male with female) as this is a tenacious species of tort and the male can and will bug the female until she is injured...


----------



## Tom (Oct 28, 2013)

That female is being tormented. The long term chronic stress could actually kill her. She needs her own enclosure ASAP. Actually, I would move the male to his own enclosure and leave her in a familiar enclosure to reduce any further stress on her. If you want to have more than one russian, you will need a very large enclosure with lots of decorative features for sight barriers and hiding places and you will need AT LEAST two females to the one male. Even this does not always work, so be prepared to separate combative individuals or over zealous males. Most tortoises should not be kept in pairs. Especially adults and especially russians.


----------

