Breeding Tortoises Questions

[radiated909]

For the first time I witness my male mount my female. This happened 3 times this week. My questions

Are radiated able to breed any time of the year?

This any way to know if my female is gravid?

If she is gravid how will I know if she is gravid?

Should I separate them?

Thank you

 

[zovick]

Radiated Tortoises breed at any time of the year. You cannot tell if the female is gravid without having her radiographed by a vet.

How old are the two tortoises and how big are they? They need to be about 10-12 years old and also about 12" to 13" in length to successfully reproduce. If your two don't meet those requirements, they are most likely not going to breed successfully.

 

[Tom]

Radiated Tortoises breed at any time of the year. You cannot tell if the female is gravid without having her radiographed by a vet.

How old are the two tortoises and how big are they? They need to be about 10-12 years old and also about 12" to 13" in length to successfully reproduce. If your two don't meet those requirements, they are most likely not going to breed successfully.

Question for "The Man": With radiata is it size or age or both. I have three 9 year old females. 14", 16" and 16". They are certainly large enough to breed, but will I have to wait another year or two due to their age?

 

[zovick]

Question for "The Man": With radiata is it size or age or both. I have three 9 year old females. 14", 16" and 16". They are certainly large enough to breed, but will I have to wait another year or two due to their age?

Hi Tom,

The sizes and ages I mentioned earlier are the average for each that I have observed over the years, and generally, both the age and the size I noted are required. There have been a couple of Radiateds that produced offspring at about 9 years of age, but they are the exception rather than the rule. So your females might potentially be able to produce viable offspring now if you get a good active male or two to put with them.

 

[Yvonne G]

Curious, and not really responding to the OP's post, but do you keep the males and females together, or only put the males with the females to breed?

 

[zovick]

Curious, and not really responding to the OP's post, but do you keep the males and females together, or only put the males with the females to breed?

I usually keep the males apart from the females unless I am present here in GA because I am afraid that a female could be overturned by a male and baked in the sun before being discovered if they left are together when I am not home. When I lived in CT previously, the heat from sun was less intense and therefore not a limiting factor, so I kept them together most of the time unless the male(s) lost interest in breeding. If that happened, I usually isolated the male for a week or so, then placed him back with the female(s).

If I have two (or more) females or groups of females, I keep a single male in with each female or group. If breeding activity falls off, I rotate the males into a different pen with a new female or group of females which generally rekindles the breeding activities for a few days at a time.

 

[radiated909]

Thank you for the response

I got my female when she was about 5 inches 7 yrs ago. She is currently 11.5 inches.

My male was 10 inches when I got him 2 years ago. He is currently 11 inches in size.

Assuming they successfully breeded How soon after should I take her to the vet to see if she is gravid.


Thank you

 

[zovick]

Thank you for the response

I got my female when she was about 5 inches 7 yrs ago. She is currently 11.5 inches.

My male was 10 inches when I got him 2 years ago. He is currently 11 inches in size.

Assuming they successfully breeded How soon after should I take her to the vet to see if she is gravid.


Thank you

The female is most likely still a little bit too young and too small to successfully reproduce. They need to be about 12"-13" and 10-12 years old. However, if she did get bred successfully you may be able to see the eggs via a radiograph in about 5 weeks assuming she ovulates soon. Be aware that females can lay fertile eggs for up to 6-9 months after being bred because they are able to store sperm. This means that if she doesn't ovulate now and no eggs are visible, it still could happen months from now. Once they do begin egg production, they generally lay a clutch every 4-6 weeks during their breeding season. Some females lay 6-7 clutches yearly.

 

[radiated909]

Thanks you Sir
You have provided me with a lot great information.

Much Appreciated

Thanks