# My leopard male and russian female just mated??



## Bigkuntry (Mar 14, 2014)

Ok so before i go any further let me state that i was not trying to mate them it kust sorta happened. Now then. Hi ya'll my names scott and i am the proud owner of a 6race year old russian female named rex. Named so because untill about an hour ago i was under the impression she was a he!. And a 7 yr old male leoepard named sampson sampson and rex where put outside by my wife in the new custom huge pen that i just built...... and yes i plan on putting up another thread with pics of the enclosure because its amazing so be on the look out...... but she did not know they could not know that they could not be housed toghether. So she let them outside to play as she put it but the new pen was only ment for the leopard. Anyways my wife calls me in a panic saying that my big leopard was on top of my little russian doing the deed. I didnt think that was possible but it did happen and she not being a turtle person described in accurate and exact detail what was going on and i could hear it threw the phone! My question is has anybody heard of this happening before? And if so could the female possibly have hybrid babes??? Its alittle strange to me and any help or discussion would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## wellington (Mar 14, 2014)

Hello and Welcome. I can't help you. I hope she isn't able to produce. If she is, and if it were me, I would not hatch them. Two very different torts with two very different care and two that would never come in contact naturally.


----------



## bouaboua (Mar 14, 2014)

Looks like the separation wall needed soon for your new outdoor enclosure.

I hope you take the advise from Barb: Do not hatch if she lay the egg. We, human; done enough to destroy the mother nature already.

I will be thrill to see your new amazing new outdoor enclosure though.....


----------



## Tom (Mar 14, 2014)

Mounting or being mounted does not indicate the sex of the tortoise. Females will mount either sex and so will males.

Now you just have to hope that no pathogens were exchanged.


----------



## Team Gomberg (Mar 14, 2014)

Do you only assume the Russian is a female because the leopard mounted it? You may not have a female Russian at all. Torts of either sex will mount another for dominance behavior.

If you do in fact have a female Russian and a male Leopard, the mounting still may not have been for mating. I find it highly unlikely and would still assume it was dominance mounting.

If the mounting was for mating purposes, this still doesn't mean it was successful. 

My advise is to you, keep them separate and accurately ID the genders. We can help you with that if you'd like.


aw, Tom you just barely beat me in responding


----------



## Bigkuntry (Mar 14, 2014)

Thank yall for the advice i have the same feelings as far as notletting the eggs hatch. But i dont think anything happened i agree with team that it was a dominance mount and nuthing serious. Like i said it was an honest mistake putting them in the same pen and me and my wife have had a talk and a laugh and trust me they will be in separate pens from now on! Lol


----------



## Laura (Mar 14, 2014)

Its IS serious... the Russian can be injured.. 
If it was a sully,, it might have been killed..


----------



## HJ1983 (Mar 15, 2014)

Biology 101: 

There are a few possibilities here. 

They may have looked like they "mated" but nature has a way of preventing these things from happening. Their privates may not have aligned and there was no way of the male fertilizing the female. He could have tried and tried but nothing happens. 

IF there was a possibility that he was successful there are many pre-zygotic barriers that can stop this. Such as her body being a different PH level and his sperm can't live in her. 

IF she does become fertilized her offspring will not be viable and the eggs will die. Or hatchlings will die.

Let's hope the first case happened so your little one won't have to be stressed with eggs. 

I'm new to tortoise world but I haven't come across a Russian leopard hybrid so more than likely she isn't "pregnant". Or maybe you will end up with the first ever hybrid (Who would be sterile).

Honestly I wouldn't worry too much. I hope this helped. Like others said the bigger worry is that they are different species and can make each other sick.


----------



## biochemnerd808 (Apr 22, 2014)

As far as mating and possible male/female identity of the tortoises it looks like you've been covered by the experts.  

I would like to add that you MIGHT want to have both get a fecal exam, because most Russian tortoises in the US are wild-caught, so they can carry all kinds of nastiness in their guts... Leos in the US are captive bred, and can be seriously endangered by RT gut nasties...


----------

