Sulcata breeding

[Nathanmahon]

Good afternoon, not sure if this is the right place but I’ve had tortoises for 14 years now and recently found out I have 2 females. I would look to breed them in a couple of years, has anyone done this before? I don’t know of a male with out buying another one.

Thanks in advance

[Nina]

Hi Nathan,

What species of tortoise do you have? If you are looking to breed, I think you will probably have to buy a male because you can't put two tortoises together without quarantining them for at least six months and I don't know another keeper who would lend their out. The reason for quarantine is that you need to ensure that one of the tortoises isn't carrying a pathogen that they could pass to the other. Also, it's really important to have at least two females (preferable more) to every male, because male tortoises are very violent with females and constantly harrass them, so if you have two or more females then at least one can have a bit of rest while the others are being pursued.

You also need to provide a suitable nesting site so that the female can dig a deep nest in which to lay her eggs and somewhere to incubate them. It is interesting that tortoise sex is determined by the temperature at which eggs are incubated. If I remember correctly 29C just below produces males and 32C and above produces females, and between 29C - 32C you get a mix.

I don't want to discourage you, as it can be fun and exciting to breed tortoises, but just thought you should be aware of what is involved in breeding them.

Nina

[Nathanmahon]

Hi Nina,

Thank you for your reply, they are Sulcatas. That’s what we was thinking to buy another but wanted to make sure we had everything else set such as space and ask any questions before we actually went through with it. Thank you again

[Nina]

Hi Nathan,

I'm so sorry that I asked you what species you had -- I've just realised that it's in the title of your post!

Just one other question. Are you in the UK, and are you thinking of breeding Sulcatas to sell them? The reason I ask is that Sulcatas need so much space, both indoors and out, and of course don't hibernate. So an adult weighing between 150lb - 200lb would need a big outdoor space and a heated large indoor space to overwinter and when the weather isn't good (which is a lot of the time), and that it can be expensive, and fewer people in the UK are keeping Sulcatas now because of that. At one point rescue centres were flooded with people who got baby Sulcatas without realising how big they got.

If you live in a warm country where they can be outdoors for most of the year then that is a different matter, and even if you live in the UK, you obviously know all the requirements for keeping a Sulcata, and I do envy you having the space to keep them. I've attached my favourite photo of a Sulcata -- it belonged to Lin (from The Tortoise Table), and it's such a good way to show the difference in size between an adult and a baby Sulcata.

Nina
[attachment=0]Sali and baby_edited_LR (Copy).jpg[/attachment]

[bevis0405]

Separate enclosures are often needed post-mating, as males can become aggressive or overly persistent.