breeding help

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russiantortoiselover1

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Ok this is my first time breeding russians. I have read like every page on the internet there is on breeding my torts. My torts have been breeding for months and months and still my female has showed no signs of laying! i know i need to be patient but i just want to know if i am doing anything wrong. Ive been soak them everyday for 1hr is that too long? i bring them to their outside enclosure as often as possible for the day. I feed them spring mix everyday with dandelions and other edible weeds as often as possible. tomatoes carrots 2 times a week and kale with the spring mix when i have it. i use calcium supplement 2 times a week. My male is ~5in maybe more and my female is between 6 and 7 inches. i got them both at repticion and the guy said they had been mating and then they stopped and then when i got them they began mating again. Im getting another large female on saturday or i hope that will help.
 

kanalomele

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Russian breeding is a delicate procedure with many challenges. Laying eggs is a biological function that is quite often inspired by the weather and temperatures. A female can viable retain semen for several years. The constant harassment that having a male with her is just going to produce stress. Stress is a definite obstacle to successful laying. If your enclosure is too small and she cant get enough peace to dig a nest you are running the risk of her becoming egg bound. My first suggestion is to remove the male. No matter how much he breeds her, she needs some peace in order to do her part.


I'm not sure why you are still confused. We had this same set of questions from you back in January. Several people including myself gave you good advice back then. I would suggest you go back and reread all of what was already explained to you. We also had explained that the wound your female had on her eye was very likely caused by being mated constantly. We also explained that your enclosures (kiddie pool) was too small for a breeding group. If you still have not separated them then the likelyhood that your female will suffer is very high. Adding another female to this ugly stew is not going to help. Females are territorial and will constantly fight with one another unless given enough space. Your male will indeed have another female to harass but the likelyhood of even more stress from another large female is definitely a problem. May I suggest you follow through with the "breeding tips" you have already been given before getting another animal.


With regard to your soaking them everyday for an hour. That is entirely unnecessary. Even hatchlings should not be soaked for an hour. I dont even soak my ill rescues for that long. You are encouraging them to poop when you soak them. A torts digestive system is not supposed to move that fast. They need time in order to extract all of the nutrients from their food. If you are pushing it through them so fast they may not be able to gain the weight they need for the winter. A 20 minute soak in warm water not more than twice a week at most is far better. Mine get a once a week soak.
 

russiantortoiselover1

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Thanks kanalomele my enclousure is 5ft by ~3ft and they go outside during the day time to a ~10ft by ~9ft enclousure. so they have enough room to roam and give each other breaks. I have noticed they r very inactive INSIDE and just walk around to eat and get water and then just sleep. But OUTSIDE they roam and stuff all day so i bring them out alot.

i will give her a break from my male thanks for the advice i hope it will help :)
i was also wondering if getting another female would not stress her as much as well as frequent breaks from the male. Did u notice anything wrong with their diet or soakings?
Thank u so much for helping! :)
 

Yvonne G

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I think you would have better luck if you would leave them alone outside and quit changing them in and out. Tortoises are territorial and they need to have their own territory to feel comfortable in.

Also, if you place a waterer in the enclosure, there's no need to be soaking adult Russian tortoises. They will hydrate on their own.
 

kanalomele

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russiantortoiselover1 said:
Thanks kanalomele my enclousure is 5ft by ~3ft and they go outside during the day time to a ~10ft by ~9ft enclousure. so they have enough room to roam and give each other breaks. I have noticed they r very inactive INSIDE and just walk around to eat and get water and then just sleep. But OUTSIDE they roam and stuff all day so i bring them out alot.

i will give her a break from my male thanks for the advice i hope it will help :)
i was also wondering if getting another female would not stress her as much as well as frequent breaks from the male. Did u notice anything wrong with their diet or soakings?
Thank u so much for helping! :)

I commented on your outside enclosure thread already as well as some notes on your soaking in my post here. Your diet seems rather limited. What you are offering is fine but I would like to see much much more variety. There are already about a bajillion threads on Russian diet so I suggest you read some of them. You will be able to make some determination for yourself what will work for you.

I do not suggest getting another female. You already have two correct? I know one is younger than the other but adding to your group is not going to solve anything right now. You have to remember that breeding is an entirely different ballgame than simply having a pet tortoise. If your existing females are not happy enough yet to lay then adding to their stress level by introducing another is not going to help.

I also agree with Yvonne. Secure the girls outside and leave them there. If you are in a predator area then make it as safe as you possibly can. A heavy top with hardware cloth is better than chicken wire which raccoons can tear right through.
 

russiantortoiselover1

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thanks, i try to find the foods on those threads but i cant! do u know where i could find some of them? i love my torts to death and i want them to be as safe as possible so thanks for all the comments.
ok on leaving them outside... do u really recomend it at night?
Heres why i don't feel safe...

in the fall my little female (my first tort ever) and my favorite thing in the world was in the enclosure b4 i went and made all the safety adjustments and she got out
we searched and searched and cried and cried. I should have posted something so newbies like me could learn from that mistake i was just to sad to post anything. sorry.
and even tho i know the enclosure is safe now i just never want to go through that again. But if its best for my torts i will do it since the enclosure is safe now

about the stress thing so give them a break so leave the male inside and the female out or just divide the outdoor in half and keep them both out there?
and since u know i only have one female should i get another since i know my other female will be happy and man free? i just want to do whats best for my torts and make them as happy as possible thank u all for for helping i really appreciate it :)
 

Levi the Leopard

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Outside full time is how my Russians are housed. Here in so Cal it is the best.
Their pen is escape proof with 12 inch high walls with a 4 inch perimeter lip and they have a box (3ftx 1.5ft) they get locked into at night. Totally safe.
You can section off a "male"area with a divider and have a door that can open and close to allow them access to one another.
My pen is 20ft long and 6ft wide. It does ok for the 4 I have in there. I plan someday to make it much larger (double) with a male area like I described.

Heather
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russiantortoiselover1

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Thanks i will make improvements and keep them out there full time :) ill build it 12in high with a 4in lip or a top ill do the male section thing too so i can have happier torts :)


i dont know if i already posted this somewhere but my females back legs arent working as well ... i read that that is a sign so i was going to make hr a nesting sight but she is not restless and is eating like a pig so.. getting kind of worried
 

jwhite

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As far as your females back legs not working right and that being a sign that she is ready to lay. I don't know where you received that info., but I have been breeding Russians for a few years now and i have never noticed my females legs not working "right" before they lay. My females get restless and pace and dig a few test nests before they lay, but their legs always seem to be working very well. They need them to be working well because that is what they use to dig their nests. If their back legs aren't working right i don't see how they would be able to dig their nests. It might be that your tortoise has some other underlying medical issue or that I just never noticed something going on with their back legs as they got closer to laying.
 

kanalomele

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There is no breeding/nesting reason for your females back legs to not be working. She needs them to dig nests. If she cannot stand square on her feet rather than scooting along on her belly or pushing herself with only the side of her feet then you have a problem. Take her to the vet, get an xray of her to see if she has eggs and the condition of her hips.
 

russiantortoiselover1

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Ok I just realized that she's fine when she walks on dirt it's just on hardwood floors so... Should I still take her I don't want her to be hurting!


1labrador golden retriever mix:Annie
1cockapoo: lily
1baby bearded dragon:Lincoln
2russians: Ramona and scooter
3fish
1guinea pig: cookie
Love my pets!!


Well hardwood floors when u first set her down then she starts walking also when I'm soaking her she does the same thing I'm really worried and do normal vets take torts?


1labrador golden retriever mix:Annie
1cockapoo: lily
1baby bearded dragon:Lincoln
2russians: Ramona and scooter
3fish
1guinea pig: cookie
Love my pets!!


Ok false alarm I just got her out and her legs r working fine idk what happened but good thing it's fixed :)


1labrador golden retriever mix:Annie
1cockapoo: lily
1baby bearded dragon:Lincoln
2russians: Ramona and scooter
3fish
1guinea pig: cookie
Love my pets!!
 
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