what are the cues for mating?

[heyprettyrave]

I know this is a really dumb question but I was pretty positive that both of my redfoots were female until today, I was coming into the room and i heard this hardcore panting and then i saw that my largest tortoise was mounted onto the smaller one.. i took her of of "her" but now im concerned because this has now been happening all day. what should i do? i really do not feel i am equipped to have little ones running around. help please

also, could my baby redfoot be crushed because the larger one keeps getting on top of her?

 

[ascott]

Can you post pics of their underside? So we can all take a peek and maybe confirm with ya male/female? Perhaps you have a male/female or even two of same sex otherwise..... And yes, in this case, size matters

 

[heyprettyrave]

this is the picture of my largest tortoise,

and my smaller one. i was under the impression that the both of them were female, can this be a problem?

 

[allegraf]

They are too small to definitively sex. What you are seeing is dominance aggression. What is the size difference? You need to keep an eye on them, they may escalate to biting each other. The size of the enclosure may need to be enlarged or sight barriers need to be put in place to allow the less dominant one to "get away". This behavior can stress them out.

 

[Madkins007]

Allegra knows her stuff!

 

[heyprettyrave]

okay because Ophelia sometimes tries to bite Dehlia which worries me but she can get away. what kind of sight barriers do i need? just like plants?