Kricket and Herman are my Hermann’s tortoises. Kricket is a 7 to 8 year old female and Herman, my male, is about 5. Herman started out a just a pet, but when I came across Kricket at the Indianapolis Reptile Show, I couldn’t resist the urge to buy her and begin breeding Hermann’s tortoises. The gentleman I purchased her from said he was unsure as to whether she had laid before or not, but I was willing to take the chance.
That was in January, and after almost 6 months of attempting to get them to breed, nothing has happened. I have witnessed them copulating several times, but still no eggs or signs of gravidity. Actually Kricket doesn’t seem interested in breeding at all. She’s constantly running away from Herman during his advances and doesn’t respond to his courting (light nibbling at the legs, etc). They are housed separate, and once a month, after Kricket has displayed no signs of being gravid, I reintroduce Herman by placing him in her enclosure. I keep him in there for 3-4 days and take him out again so as not to stress Kricket out too much. He bugs the heck out of her when they’re together.
What am I doing wrong? I’m no pro at this and don’t pretend to be. I’m a little frustrated and would greatly appreciate a little advice, as descriptive information on breeding Hermann’s is sparse on the net.
It has been speculated by some helpful people that I’ve asked, that Herman might not be big or old enough to breed. Would he be mounting Kricket and trying to breed of he weren’t old enough?
Thanks in advance.