People have successfully bred russians without hibernation. If they are healthy, in good condition, and given the proper care, they don't really need the cool down to produce fertile eggs. Many people believe that hibernation is important, however, for the general well-being of a tortoise. I have also heard some very long term results that state the opposite.

If you hibernate this winter, do it responsibly. Try to keep the temps right around 40f, because too low or two high will cause the torts to dig (they dig up or down to find the right temperature in the wild), which will cause them to lose some of their precious reserves.

I very highly recomend that you don't hibernate this winter though. Did you get the new tort checked for parasites? If not, there's a very high possibility that the new tort does have some sort of internal parasite, and the one you had previously would then as well (because you put them together). Always quarantine your torts. Take both fecals to the vet and also take the torts for a check up. They should only go down for the winter if they have a clean bill of health, and most recomend only hibernating if they have been completely healthy for at least one year.

Also, they won't lay eggs unless you give them the right conditions. They'll need soil a little deeper than their shells are long, and they will most likely bury them underneath their heat lamp (where temps are most likely to be correct). My big female russian dug 'test nests' for a month and a half before I figured out what the problems were. #1: She didn't have enough dirt. I only had her on about 6" of dirt, and her shell is about 9-10", so she needed at least 4" more (I gave her about a foot of dirt). Also, experiment with different basking spot temperatures. I gave my female choices between about 90f surface temp, 120f, and 175f surface temps, and she chose 175 (note: These measurements are the surface of the soil, not the air temperatures...all were measured with a PE temp gun).

If your male's mating 'takes', then you could have a tortoise that is ready to dig in a months time. However, how large is your female? Most of the Wild Caught ones I see sold are about 5" shell length, which is often too small to be sexually mature anyways.

Just some opinions.

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