Sulcata Tortoise Breeding

[kinney8277]

How often do adult Sulcata breed during an Year? And why do adult male hump smaller male(s) during the absence of an female?

 

[Yvonne G]

A male will 'breed' another tortoise any time he sees her. This is why we advise to not keep pairs in the same yard. Eventually the female will stay hiding, stop eating, etc. He pesters her all the time.

In the absence of a female, a male will mount a large rock, your shoe, a tortoise statue, another tortoise, whatever.

 

[Tom]

How often do adult Sulcata breed during an Year? And why do adult male hump smaller male(s) during the absence of an female?

• Some breed 15 times a day and others breed 15 times in a year. It is variable.
• The breeding season for sulcatas starts around the beginning of January and lasts until about the end of December. They usually lay eggs about every 5-6 weeks from Jan through April or May. They stop laying when it gets hot.
• Adult males hump other males as a sign of dominance, just like with dogs. The humper is telling the humpee: "Get out of my territory! NOW!" They need to be separated ASAP in this case.
• Two adult males should not be housed together. If you have 50 of them in a 3 acre enclosure, multiple males can sometimes co-exist, but even then there will be fighting and some will have to be separated into their own enclosures. In any normal situation there should only be one male per enclosure.
• A group of 3 or 4 adults females will usually get along fine, but as soon as you add a male, you will have a baby making factory. All your free time will be spent tending to eggs and babies, and each female will produce around 50-100 babies a year that you will have to find homes for. Do you have the contacts to move that many babies? Most people should not breed them. There is a lot more to it than some people realize.