I am thinking about getting a couple of 3-4 year old male hermann torts and I have a couple o questions that I need advice on. I have a female 3 year old whendo they start breeding? The males I am considering have never hibernated, is this a problem if I want to fridge hibernate, whichis what I do with my female.
Breeding age is more relative to their size, around 15cm. In the wild this could be up to 20 years of age. Many tortoises in the UK reach sexual maturity much earlier due to over-feeding, which often results in long term reproduction problems. We had a female rehomer here who prolapsed and had to have a major operation including a hysterectomy to rule out any repercussions. We wouldn't recommend keeping 2 males with one female. Male tortoises are extremely persistent and will constantly pester your female which would results in her becoming very stressed. Better to consider a female/male ratio of 3:1 or more. We have 5 females to 1 male here and still find we have to remove males from the group at times. It may be worth considering adding another female or two to your group and look to rehome a male at a later date (just a suggestion). Male tortoises are more available on all rehoming registers, because of the recommended female/male ratio, whereas mature females are highly sought after.
