Post quarantine-1st date questions

[PA2019]

My Indian star group consists of 1.2 and its been 6 months since I got them from several sources. Each has been quarantined in their own pen, no health issues noted and substantial weight gains have been observed.

I would like to introduce the larger female to the male but have several questions.

Do I use a neutral pen neither have been in, do I put the female in the males pen, or vice versa?

If nothing happens after a couple of hours should I separate them, leave them together overnight, several days?

Any star breeders recommend spraying the pen down to help stimulate breeding activity?

 

[JoesMum]

I would use a large neutral pen and put all 3 in. Nobody owns anything and nobody will be the sole subject of attention of whoever decides they're in charge of the new turf.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

 

[PA2019]

And Sweet Dreams everyone at CDR

​

Headache here, @Tidgy's Dad ? Don't think so and hope not.

​

Ummmm Gillian this is not the cold dark room. Would love some actual advice, and not a psychedelic red squirrel thanks

 

[PA2019]

I would use a large neutral pen and put all 3 in. Nobody owns anything and nobody will be the sole subject of attention of whoever decides they're in charge of the new turf.

Thanks for the information. How long would you keep everyone together?

 

[JoesMum]

Thanks for the information. How long would you keep everyone together?

If you have a very large enclosure with plenty of sight barriers you could try for a permanent arrangement; it needs to be at least 3 times the size that you would allow for a single tortoise.

Otherwise, you will have a pretty good idea if things are happening... Leave them be for the day then separate again. Be aware that the girls may not get on as a pair after this so you will probably be keeping all 3 separate

 

[Markw84]

My Indian star group consists of 1.2 and its been 6 months since I got them from several sources. Each has been quarantined in their own pen, no health issues noted and substantial weight gains have been observed.

I would like to introduce the larger female to the male but have several questions.

Do I use a neutral pen neither have been in, do I put the female in the males pen, or vice versa?

If nothing happens after a couple of hours should I separate them, leave them together overnight, several days?

Any star breeders recommend spraying the pen down to help stimulate breeding activity?

Might have more luck in the star section getting the star people to see this question.

I would introduce in the females enclosure. Where she is confortable, like a male tortoise roamed into HER territory out looking for a mate. Some have reported better luck with stars with multiple males for competition and perhaps stirring the testosterone! But I would let her feel as comfortable as possible with her own enclosure for the introduction.

Watch what happens. Sometimes the male starts following and trying to breed immediately. Sometimes it takes a while. If there is not excessive, non-stop mating attempts, I would leave them together several days or more. If nothing happens, separate again to see if that stimulates activity.

 

[G-stars]

From my experience, I would put them all together in the biggest enclosure you have. I like having more than one male to provide competition. This has worked for me better than keeping one male. What will more likely happen is one male, usually the larger one will breed with the females.

I leave my group together year round, but I have a much larger group and many females per each male. That's why I suggest you put both females in with your male.

I do spray it down when it's warm out. I do this once a day or every other day. But I do it more to add humidity and cool them off. However, I do think it does stimulate them to breed as well.

 

[PA2019]

It's interesting you both mention having multiple males. That seems to be a common thread with breeders on here. I am working on finding another, but in the meantime I think I am going to try both suggestions. I will put him in her pen for the day and monitor. If nothing or 'too much' happens I will open all 3 enclosures and keep everyone together. I only hesitate to have everyone together as my 2nd female is too young to breed (650g) and being egg bound is worrisome.

 

[Markw84]

From my experience, I would put them all together in the biggest enclosure you have. I like having more than one male to provide competition. This has worked for me better than keeping one male. What will more likely happen is one male, usually the larger one will breed with the females.

I leave my group together year round, but I have a much larger group and many females per each male. That's why I suggest you put both females in with your male.

I do spray it down when it's warm out. I do this once a day or every other day. But I do it more to add humidity and cool them off. However, I do think it does stimulate them to breed as well.

Gus. Do your Elegans lay in the winter or spring? The platynota lay in winter but then need diapause break. So when do your elegans normally lay?

 

[G-stars]

Gus. Do your Elegans lay in the winter or spring? The platynota lay in winter but then need diapause break. So when do your elegans normally lay?

Mark, they usually lay eggs from March to August. However, this year they started laying in August. As we speak I see one digging test holes. So I don't know how late they will lay this year. I'm associating that with recently moving.

 

[Gillian M]

Ummmm Gillian this is not the cold dark room. Would love some actual advice, and not a psychedelic red squirrel thanks

Terribly sorry for the mistake. Apologies.