Boy or girl? Help!

morahstar

New Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2014
Messages
10
How can i tell if my RT is a boy or girl? The guy at the petstore said it was too young to tell
 

tortoisetime565

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
1,703
Location (City and/or State)
Oklahoma
If you could include some images of the turtles anal scutes and the top of his shell as well as the bottom part we can offer a much wider range of info. Thanks!
 

mike taylor

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
Messages
13,461
Looks female but not 100 percent .


Looks female but not 100 percent .
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Hi morahstar:

Pet stores are notorious for telling their customers that the Russian tortoises they sell are 'young.' Your tortoise is almost full grown, and anywhere from 8 years to 20 years. It is a female, and females get a bit bigger than males, so she may grow another inch or two.
 

OCTortoiseGuy

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jul 9, 2013
Messages
64
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, CA
Yvonne G said:
Hi morahstar:

Pet stores are notorious for telling their customers that the Russian tortoises they sell are 'young.' Your tortoise is almost full grown, and anywhere from 8 years to 20 years. It is a female, and females get a bit bigger than males, so she may grow another inch or two.

I agree!!
 

biochemnerd808

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Messages
1,453
Location (City and/or State)
Central Arkansas (we moved!)
I agree! :)

You can tell that it is not a baby because a) a baby RT is 2" or so big... it takes 5 or more years to reach 4" which is the minimum size for them to be sold at the pet store. Looking at the shell, this tortoise has grown for several years. Being a female, she could continue to grow, she'll probably end up between 7" and 10" total.

Yvonne G said:
Hi morahstar:

Pet stores are notorious for telling their customers that the Russian tortoises they sell are 'young.' Your tortoise is almost full grown, and anywhere from 8 years to 20 years. It is a female, and females get a bit bigger than males, so she may grow another inch or two.
 
Top