Im searching for a female Russian Tortoise!

AnitaMarie

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Hi! Ive been in search of a female Russiab Tort. I have a male, his name is Thor and I feel he needs a female friend. :) I'm located in Massachusetts and will travel into Rhode Island if I must. I am also willing to pay a price if reasonable!
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Anita:

I'd give it another thought if I were you, unless you have the space for two habitats. First of all, tortoises are not herd type animals and they don't look for or want company, or another tortoise in their territory. Secondly, if you get only one female to put with the male in an indoor habitat, he will hound her and hound her, trying to breed every waking moment. And they are very aggressive breeders, biting, bumping, even making the female bleed, until she finally will hide in a corner trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She may even become so stressed that she stops eating and slowly dies.
 

AnitaMarie

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So you suggest I don't get a female at all? Or, possibly more than one? I was going to get a Sulcata but my uncle is an experienced reptile breeder and told me it wasnt a good idea. I wouldnt house them together, I'm just really in love with tortoisds and would like another. I also really wouldnt mind having baby tortoises but if its too hard on the female than I'd rather not.
 

T33's Torts

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Re: RE: Im searching for a female Russian Tortoise!

AnitaMarie said:
So you suggest I don't get a female at all? Or, possibly more than one? I was going to get a Sulcata but my uncle is an experienced reptile breeder and told me it wasnt a good idea. I wouldnt house them together, I'm just really in love with tortoisds and would like another. I also really wouldnt mind having baby tortoises but if its too hard on the female than I'd rather not.

Your options:

-house them SEPARATELY
-Don't get a female
-Get several (3/4) females (some may have to be removed)
-get a whole different species and house them SEPARATELY

You just can't have one male and one female together.
 

Tom

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If they will be housed separately, it is no problem to have a male and female. After a quarantine period and some fecal checks, you can put them together for breeding once in a while, and then put the female back in her own enclosure to give her some peace.

You will probably get the best results if you hibernate them both and then introduce them in the spring time.
 

Tom

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Absolutely. I read a very extensive paper on russians a couple of years ago out of Europe. The authors thought that keeping males and females separate for most of the year and only introducing them for breeding in the spring and fall was the best approach to breeding. Over here, with our nice weather, most people just put one male with several females in a large outdoor enclosure and it all seems to work out.
 

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