red-foot tortoise

Question
I've had my red-foot for about 6 years she is about 6 inches wide and about 9 inches long i would like to know when do we know when she is old enough to mate we are in the process of getting a male red foot that is older and much bigger than her

Answer
We generally go by age and length combined. As far as length goes, when they are about 6" long (in a straight line, front of the shell to the back), they are usually starting to get big enough. At about 6 years, they can usually can start, but they may go until about 8 before they start, and some do not start until about 10.

Now- the things that will influence breeding will include:
- Big space. Crowding them stresses them, and stressed tortoises do not mate. Most experts say that an 8'x8' space is the smallest you can use and have good chances- although it has certainly happened in smaller spaces.

- Personalities/numbers. Most breeding success comes from small 'herds' of tortoises. One male and one female just do not seem to work as often. Competition between male and females, having a choice of mates, etc. increases the odds of mating. Most breeders have herds of 4 or more tortoises- although again, it has happened with just 2.

- Cares. While one tortoise can do well on mediocre care and diet plans for a long time, if you want them to breed you NEED to be offering them the temps, humiditiy, diet, etc. they really want- and an awful lot of books and articles on these tortoises are very, very wrong. I'll post a couple good sites later.

Some other tips:
- They seem to mate better outside. In the wild, it often happens in the warm, wet season.
- If you cannot do big spaces, do not keep them together. Many breeders only introduce two tortoises together for several hours every few days or so.

Some good sites:
- http://www.tortoisetrust.com
- http://www.redfoots.com
- http://www.pingleton.com/redfoot/redfoots.htm

Good luck!