Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a pair of Greek Tortoises that appear to be breeding. Several times, I see the male mounted on the female... but she never seems responsive. As he mounts, she turns slightly to the left and right and then will walk off.

After he dismounts, he rams her shell and then mounts again. I realize that this is part of his mating ritual, but is her behaviour normal?

Also, if they are successfully breeding, how long will it be before she lays eggs and then until theyhatch. I think I will need an incubator.

-Brian

Her behaviour is perfectly normal. Females of every species act this way...general disinterest.

Depending on where your Greek's are from anywhere from 40-70 days after mating she will lay her eggs.

I am not exactly sure where they are from, but I know they are not golden greek. They seem larger than that and have darker shells. I was told they were "Greek Isle" torts.

So, just doing some quick googleing... I should remove them immediately from the cage and place them in a shoe box full of mulch type material? is that correct?

About how many will she lay?

What temperature should I keep them at?

Not to rain on your parade or anything but the breeding mechanism of tortoises is really crude which means that there probably has to be many copulations before you get fertile eggs.
Then, the female has to have mature egg follicles in order for her to produce those eggs. There are a great deal of circumstances that have to come together at just the right time.
I've got a pair of Hermans that I've had for about 5 years now. The male breeds the female daily through about half the year... no fertile eggs yet.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Well, its good that he is getting in his practice

I don't want the male to be to stressful on the female. Should I keep the male and female seperate then? Or should everything be fine as mother nature intended it to be?

-Brian

As long as you provide an opportunity for the female to get a break, there shouldn't be a problem.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

It is always better to keep male and female tortoises separate if you possibly can. The male's constant attempts to mate are very stressful to the female. They should be put together in early spring right after hibernation for about 3 weeks or so, and then separated for the remainder of the year until after the next hibernation.

Remember that in the wild, the female will only stay in the male's territory for a short time and then she leaves and wants no part of him after they mate. In a captive environment, she cannot do this and may become injured or worse.

The reason you are not getting fertile eggs is probably because you do not hibernate your tortoises and are keeping them in too small of an enclosure.

Tortoises that are not allowed to hiberanate often have problems with breeding, like infertility, non-production of eggs, or impacted, calcified eggs.

This is called 'Baiting'.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care