Gender Identification

[Digger&Blinky]

Here is their enclosure

 

[Digger&Blinky]

One with the dark shell is digger

 

[Digger&Blinky]

Im not sure if this food is good

 

[Digger&Blinky]

Hi i have 2 russian tortoises and 1 of them is a boy (he flashed me) and i have been told the other is a girl but she has a long tail like the boy but a scrunched butt

 

[Yvonne G]

This means your vet ISN'T a tortoise vet. He's going by the flat plastron. Russian tortoise males HAVE a flat plastron. Yes your boy is a boy. Slit for cloaca. If he were female the cloaca would show star shape.

 

[cmacusa3]

And you have 2 males so yes it bullying and not mating. You need to either rehome one or get separate enclosures. That enclosure is small for one tort and really small for 2

 

[Digger&Blinky]

This is the whole enclosure

 

[Digger&Blinky]

Are you sure its a male because only one has flashed and when i pull their tails one goes into a slit and the other one is like a wrinkly hole

 

[cmacusa3]

Are you sure its a male because only one has flashed and when i pull their tails one goes into a slit and the other one is like a wrinkly hole

I read where @Yvonne posted male and she's a very knowledgeable keeper.

 

[Digger&Blinky]

Its a bit dark but its really big

 

[Digger&Blinky]

I cang get a clear pic tonight so i will get one tommorow

 

[wellington]

Yet, another reason to be very careful when taking a tortoise to a vet. Mine have never seen a vet. Unless there is a big problem that I can't take care of, they will never go to a vet.

 

[GingerLove]

Yep, that's a boy. I hope you didn't pay the vet to tell you the gender.

 

[Yvonne G]

Like I told you on your other thread, both are male.

 

[Yvonne G]

I dont think the male bullies her he just tries to mate with her once in a while

They're both male.

 

[GingerLove]

Do you have a light that isn't red? It causes them to eat things that are not food as red is a "food" color to them. They are both handsome torts, but I would also advice not housing them together. I decided not to take someone's advice for a year on the forum, and it bit me later. I almost lost my torty forever.
Best of luck to you and your pretty torts! BTW, romaine lettuce is a good choice from my experience. But grapes and tomatoes are not good as they contain too much sugar.

 

[Digger&Blinky]

Ok im still not quit sure i will get another pic of it one has a V shaped bit on their tail and 1 has a rounder one.

 

[Digger&Blinky]

I have a uv lamp that i switch on in the day

 

[Digger&Blinky]

Thats their night light

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Unless your room is very cold at night, Russians don't need a night light.

I can't say if your second tortoise is male, as only one clear tail photo is posted, but you need to separate them or find one a new home even if you have a boy and a girl. (Edit: just went through your other posts and now I see which tortoise is which - yes, that's two males). Since you don't have room for a second enclosure, a new home for one of your tortoises is likely your best option.

You are already watching bullying occur and likely have stress to blame for part of the health issues you are seeing. The fact that he periodically tries to mate with 'her' in that very small enclosure means you are going to have at least one very stressed tortoise. In the wild, Russians would never be confined in such a small area like that. A female tortoise would have opportunity to get away, and would only infrequently encounter a male. In your case, you are witnessing dominance/aggression between two males. This behaviour isn't going to get better or less stressful with time, it potentially can get a lot worse. Russians do not do well in small enclosures or in pairs.

I know this isn't the advice you want to hear, but if you want to help your tortoises live happier lives, you should listen to what the very experienced tortoise keepers here are tying to tell you. You need to make quite a few changes in how you are keeping these animals if you want them to be healthy.