1 year !!

[Jude curran]

I have had my russian tortoise terry for about a year now. when i got him he was 4 inches along the plastron. he is now about 2 and a half years old (we think) and has grown an inch since january , is this normal ?

we think terry is female as he/she is 5inches and hasnt got a curve in the plastron

i will attach some photos of her , her shell and her enclosure. i would love some tips and advice as i am still new and want the best for terry.

many thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

Male Russian tortoises don't get a curved plastron. All those pictures and not a single tail picture! We can tell you pretty quick if he's male or female by looking at the tail.

 

[Jude curran]

Male Russian tortoises don't get a curved plastron. All those pictures and not a single tail picture! We can tell you pretty quick if he's male or female by looking at the tail.

woops sorry about that lol, i will upload one asap

 

[Jude curran]

hope these are okay

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

Tortoise looks female with the short tail and puckered "*" cloaca.

 

[Jude curran]

Tortoise looks female with the short tail and puckered "*" cloaca.

aw cool, thanks so much any thoughts on how i could improve the enclosure. its currently 5 feet by 2 & 1/2 feet so she will get an upgrade eventually

 

[Tom]

An inch of growth over the course of a year in good conditions is normal for a young Russian tortoise. Your tortoise looks great!

I agree that its looking female right now.

Everything looks pretty good and you have the best substrate there is for them. I would make the whole enclosure MUCH larger and also add a larger, shallower water dish.

 

[Jude curran]

An inch of growth over the course of a year in good conditions is normal for a young Russian tortoise. Your tortoise looks great!

I agree that its looking female right now.

Everything looks pretty good and you have the best substrate there is for them. I would make the whole enclosure MUCH larger and also add a larger, shallower water dish.

thats great thanks
we do plan on giving her a big upgrade eventually, now is not a good time sadly. but i will get a new water dish. i was thinking of using eco-earth for a change. we used that when we first got her. we need to get new substrate ether way so we thought just go for eco earth again . would you recommend this ?

 

[Tom]

thats great thanks
we do plan on giving her a big upgrade eventually, now is not a good time sadly. but i will get a new water dish. i was thinking of using eco-earth for a change. we used that when we first got her. we need to get new substrate ether way so we thought just go for eco earth again . would you recommend this ?

I would not recommend coco coir (AKA Eco-Earth). Much too messy. The one you have works best.