Hello,
I bought a pair (confirmed male and female) of Russian tortoises from my local pet shop (East Bay Vivarium, Berkley, CA.) a year ago. The female is roughly 5in across, and the male is just slightly smaller. I keep them in a 40 gal aquarium with a basking light at one end about 18 inches above that holds a 90 watt halogen flood bulb for basking. They are indoors where I keep the house at 70. They are also kept right next to a window where direct sun cannot hit their encloser but they are aware of the light cycles outside due to this window lights up their room. I am disabled and do not go into the front of the house after 5pm so the window is that rooms only light source. I have a timer on the basking light set to run from 8 am to 8 pm.
Recently, (today) the male has been chasing the female and biting her front legs and mounting her with his mouth wide open while making strange noises. I had thought about hibernating them this winter in hopes they will breed but was wondering if they could possible be breeding now? Is it possible the female could become ready under the habitat circumstances above described, or is the male just a little overly motivated? I do not know the ages of them due to I assume they were originally from the wild. I live in Northern California. Thank you for any info. Jerry
