# [split] have a question



## russiantortoiselover1 (Nov 29, 2012)

do you know if you need to separate mature males from immature females to avoid mating??/ and the immature females ending up with their eggs bound?


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## wellington (Nov 29, 2012)

*RE: have a question*

Hello and Welcome to both of you. Yes, males should be separated from the females, unless you have a two females or more to one male ratio. The males will try to mate and basically bully/constant trying to breed the female to possible illness or death. A too young/small female can become egg bound. It has happened before with a member.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 9, 2012)

*Breeding*

My male wont stop mounting my females do I need to separate them now and then to give them a break and also if my male
Wont stop biting the female what do I do?!!!


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## dmmj (Dec 9, 2012)

*RE: Breeding*

Permanent separation is for the best, the male won't ever stop,and injury can result from the biting.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 10, 2012)

*RE: have a question*

I have a n immature female a definitely mature femAle and a mature male I'm trying to breed the mature ones but my male wont stop mounting my mature female. I don't want her to die or get sick. I'm separating them until I get home and then they get bAck together and I separate them at night. Is that the right thing to do??!


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 10, 2012)

*Tortoise breeding*

How often to Russian torts ovulate?


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## Tom (Dec 10, 2012)

*RE: Tortoise breeding*

Do you mean how often do they lay eggs?


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## Yvonne G (Dec 10, 2012)

*RE: Tortoise breeding*

Most female tortoise species are receptive to being bred once a year. I'm assuming this has to do with if she's ovulating or not. Some species will accept a male more than once a year. My Russian tortoises only lay eggs once a year, so I'm assuming they ovulate only once a year.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Tortoise breeding*

I mean like my male tort is trying to mount my mature female 24/7 is it going to hurt her. Do I need to give her a break now and then. I don't want to separate them because I'm trying to breed them. And also if I have my immature female in with them and he maybe try's to mount her once a day is that ok?
Thank you


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Breeding*

If I'm trying to breed them do I just give them time together every how often?


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## NudistApple (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Tortoise breeding*

He could hurt her. You don't really want to leave them together all of the time, because he is really harassing her. Them, I should say. Russians are notoriously unkind to one another.


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## dmmj (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Breeding*

Indoor or outdoor enclosures?


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Breeding*

Out of two plastic baby pools one on the bottom and one on the top with half cut out for sunlight. I just need the tools. (That's what Christmas is for


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 11, 2012)

*Breeding*

I separated my female and male for the night and my male wont stop looking at the other cage
I'm trying to breed them so if I put them in a baby pool outside with half a baby pool on top will she have plenty of room and be able to keep them together? I don't want to make her sick from stress but I want some baby torts.


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## Yvonne G (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Tortoise breeding*

The Russian female tortoise usually lays her eggs in the spring so that they have all summer's warm weather to incubate. I've never kept breeding pairs in the house, so I don't know how it works for them when there is no spring, summer, winter, etc.

I would not allow my male tortoise to continually harass the female. It is very stressful for her.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Tortoise breeding*

Thanks


Do you now where I could get baby pools in the winter to make their outdoor home ?


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## kanalomele (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Tortoise breeding*

This is a situation where it is unproductive to keep them together. In my opinion Russians are a species that require lots of space. I would not put more than one in a space the size of a plastic kiddie pool. When females are overly familiar with the individual male they are housed with it can prohibit the goal of successful mating. Give them all a break from one another. For months even, if you want babies. Remember that a female can store the sperm for years before she feels the environment is suitable for laying. Generally they only lay once or maybe twice (in rare cases) a year. So it is a balancing act between healthy torts, successful unstressful mating and optimum environment to consistently produce hatchlings.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 11, 2012)

*[split] how long to have male with female*

(Note from moderator: In order to not hi-jack WoofWolf's thread I've moved russiantortoiselover1's question to its own thread)




This doesn't help you but how long have you had a male with a female?did the male harass her every chance he got?
(I'm breeding mine just curious)


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## WoofWolf (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Incubator Question: What To Put Eggs In?*



russiantortoiselover1 said:


> This doesn't help you but how long have you had a male with a female?did the male harass her every chance he got?
> (I'm breeding mine just curious)



They've been together for about a year. And, yep: He harassed her fairly frequently. But she's soooo much bigger than he is... She simply ignored him much of the time, but if he nipped at her front feet enough sometimes she'd turn around. Picture of the pair is attached. The logistics are rather staggering.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Incubator Question: What To Put Eggs In?*

I have like an 8in female and a male I'm trying to breed and ppl say to separate them. What did you do?keep them together all the time? Ppl say that's too stressful I'm so confused!!!
Can you tell me your conditions
Like outside or indoor enclosure? one male one female? 
I wAnt some baby torts but ppl say I should separate them.
What should I do?
My female is definitely big enough to take care of herself but I don't want her to get sick from stress
I'm a newbie sorry I'm asking so much :0


Mine are about that size


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## Tom (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Tortoise breeding*

Is something like this an option?
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-30683.html

Kiddie pools are so small. Having real earth and grass and weeds under their feet is such a good thing. You could build any size or variation of this sort of set up. For breeding you could remove one of the blocks that divide the enclosures to give the male access for a day or two and then separate them again. Some people report better results using this method, as opposed to leaving them together full time.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Tortoise breeding*

Thanks Yes that will be my backup plan.this is cheaper. This is the kiddie pool I'm talking about would this work?


It will be filled to the top with dirt and
Pool on top would act as a wall (half cut off for sunlight)


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Incubator Question: What To Put Eggs In?*

Could I expose them once a month?


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## WoofWolf (Dec 11, 2012)

*RE: Incubator Question: What To Put Eggs In?*



russiantortoiselover1 said:


> I have like an 8in female and a male I'm trying to breed and ppl say to separate them. What did you do?keep them together all the time? Ppl say that's too stressful I'm so confused!!!
> Can you tell me your conditions
> Like outside or indoor enclosure? one male one female?
> I wAnt some baby torts but ppl say I should separate them.
> ...





I'm fairly new to this Forum as well, but have raised Russians for a while. I've incubated eggs successfully in past, too. I've now asked for Forum help in getting a definitive answer re: covering or not covering the egg container when it's in the incubator.
If you have 1 male and 1 female, yes: Sometimes the male will pester her constantly and you'll need to separate them so that she'll have peace. If you have 1 male in with 2 or more females, that takes pressure off of the females because his affections are spread out among the various sister wives. In the case of my pair, he hasn't been amorous to the extent that it's bothered her. He has him moments, but it's not every day. They're most often just gentle little friends. Too, they live in an outside pen in the warm months and in a 4' X 6' trough in the Winter, and she's able to get away whenever she wants -- as is he. 
Bottom line, I guess, is that you just have to be attentive. If your guy is constantly bothering your girl, keep 'em separated to the extent that you need to so that she can have a happy, peaceful life. One "fix" is to divide their pen/container with a barrier/wall of some sort which you can take out or put in depending on their levels of friskiness.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 12, 2012)

*RE: [split] how long to have male with female*

I have two females but one is not mature can I still put them together to have 1 male to 2 females?


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## tortadise (Dec 12, 2012)

*RE: [split] how long to have male with female*

Well if you know the females egg cycle of when she drops, place the male with her a month or 2 before she drops so he can fertilize the eggs. Females will typically develope their egg cycle and stay with it very consitantly each year.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 13, 2012)

*RE: [split] how long to have male with female*

No I don't know first time breeding I have them separate now she is defiantly big enough to fend for herself and he hasn't hurt her the times I've kept them together when do most normally lay (it's a Russian)


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 16, 2012)

*Tortoise breeding*

Does anyone have any successful breeding tips?


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 23, 2012)

*Tips in tortoise breeding*

Hey I just need some breeding tips


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## N2TORTS (Dec 23, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

Practice â€¦.Patience â€¦â€¦Disappointments â€¦.and pure Joy!


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 25, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

Thanks by the way is there a list of tort breeders anywhere on the forum?


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## Tom (Dec 25, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

You'll get better responses if you can be a little more specific with your question. Nobody wants to spend an hour typing when they aren't even sure what you want to know about breeding.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 26, 2012)

*Immature female*

Can I have my immature female, mature female and mature male together? I put them In a bigger cage so he's not bothering her as much I just don't want her eggs bound if he started noticing her more. I'm not trying to breed my immature female jut my mature pair. But you know things happen
-thanks


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 26, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

Thanks


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## bigred (Dec 26, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

Start with a male and female Couldnt help myself. 2 or 3 females to 1 male usually helps. What kind of torts ?


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 26, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

I just wanted to know if there were any tricks to get my female to lay or just anything that would make the process faster and easier. Just some breeding wisdom I've already read every site there is on tort breeding and they are Russians
1 Mature male
1 mature female 
1 immature female (not trying to breed her but she's in the cage is that a problem?)


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## princessdreamsxxx (Dec 26, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

You need at least one male to 3 adult female of good weight and size to carry the eggs as the eggs take a lot out of the female, a good setup not too cramped with a place for the females to retreat as a stressed female will not lay and a male that does not just hump he has got to show his stuff if you know what I mean lol but keep the calcium supply up for the females these are the basics anyway there is a lot more to it but you need to start somewhere


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 26, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

Thanks


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## Neal (Dec 26, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

Breeding tortoises is easy. What is more important, in my opinion, is starting the hatchlings off "right". This can be tricky for some and requires experience and education. 

If your tortoises reproduce, chances are you will have the responsibility caring for the hatchlings for however long until you sell them or whatever you decide to do with them. We often discuss here how critical the first few days, weeks, and months are to establishing a tortoises health and growth pattern. To give your tortoises the best chance for survival and optimal health, I would recommend raising a few from a young age (if you have not done so already) and apply that experience to the tortoise bred under your care.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 26, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

Are there any good websites on raising hatchlings?


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## Laura (Dec 26, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

right here,,,,, all the info you need,,,,


if your 'cage' is the baby pool in your picture.. its too small...its ok for one solitary pet, but not a breeding set up. 
if it was easy to breed russians. the market would be flooded with them like sulcatas.. 
its takes patience.. you dont want to rush aything...
you need a place they feel 'happy' and secure. the larger the better... 
Do you have an incubator for the eggs?
and Im not sure how crucial.. but if you want good breeders, some people say you have to let them 'hibernate'.


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Dec 26, 2012)

*RE: Tips in tortoise breeding*

Was that a joke?


Oh sorry I didn't see the rest


No that's temporary


Yes I have an incubator but its not at my house yet


I'm actually building the new cage nowðŸ˜„


I'm actually building the new in closure now


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## russiantortoiselover1 (Jan 3, 2013)

now i have them outside in a giant pen and my male doesn't pay attention to her anymore do i need to separate them for awhile and then put them together so he "misses" her


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