Brumation and breeding

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GeoTerraTestudo

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I have a question regarding brumation (hibernation) and breeding. If we wish to delay breeding, should we prevent our Russian tortoise pair from brumating in the winter? The reason I ask is that we don't have a backyard yet, so I was thinking of postponing breeding until we do. Is it necessary to have a backyard for a female to successfully lay eggs, or can that be done indoors?
 

bikerchicspain

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I dont think you need a back yard, my Greeks laid eggs in one of my indoor cages..
 

GBtortoises

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Not hibernating them isn't necessarily going to prevent them from breeding. Breeding is "triggered" by changes (usually increases) in environmental conditions such as increased temperature, light duration, light intensity and possibly food supply. Hibernations (brumations) main function for a tortoise is to be able to wait out cold weather where basking and acitvity would be difficult and food would be scarce. It's not hibernation that triggers breeding desire it's what brings them out of hibernation that does.
One obvious way to prevent them from breeding is to seperate them. This won't prevent a female from laying eggs, possibly fertile eggs, since that can take place any time also and especially when environmental conditions are right.
Many people keep and breed tortoises very successfully indoors. Some of those same people never hibernate their tortoises and continue to have females nest and produce fertile eggs.
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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Okay, thank you. Well, maybe they will breed anyway, then. Our male and female are housed separately, but they do come into contact with each other from time to time, so maybe they will mate then.

It just seems like hibernation makes turtles and tortoises more likely to mate. I had boxies for years and never saw them mating, but the one year they did hibernate, they mated that following summer.
 

GBtortoises

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I've always thought that my tortoises, and turtles when I had them, bred with much more vigor and consistency after being hibernated as opposed to those that hadn't. Even though I have had tortoises mate and produce fertile eggs without being hibernated it is no where nearly as consistent and with the same fertility level. I think the increased level of all the "trigger" elements are what does it. Whether they take place naturally or are reproduced artificially indoors.
 
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