Determining gender/age if possible!

[jackryan13]

So we were told that both Tilly & Eliza were both females, pretty sure Tilly is however Eliza I am not too sure about, she constantly attempts to nip Tilly and quite a while back one was seen mounting the other (unsure as to who was on top of who). We know this can be sometimes a sign of dominance and this seems to be the case with Eliza's constant need to nip Tilly.

Anyway I've attached photos of both torts, a basic pic, tail pic (Eliza's seems to be quite long in comparison to Tilly's) and one of them underneath. Hope someone could help determine the genders for sure and if possible age .

The first 3 are Tilly. Second 3 are Eliza.

 

[wellington]

If one is nipping the other, they probably should be separated. Tortoises are loners and can bully another to illness of even death. You only having two, they should be put together only from breeding and then separated. If you want to try to keep them together, you will need a very large enclosure and get at least one more even more females, if you do have a male and female now. I'm not good at sexing, but I do think you have one of each. However, see what the others say.

 

[Tom]

Either way you need to separate these animals. Tilly's life is a living hell right now. In the wild Tilly would simply leave the territory of the aggressor. Your enclosure walls prevent that.

Russians are a very scrappy species and should really never be kept in pairs.

 

[jackryan13]

They were separated not long after we got them. We occasionally get them out together to see how they react, however she still nips so we tend to get them out separately most out of the time. After we had separated them we were curious to learn their gender. Thanks for your reply anyway

 

[WillTort2]

I think most of the keepers here would also advise going to a substrate with coco coir or topsoil with no fertilizers or some combination. The pellets roll under their feet and don't provide good traction.

Russians need to be able to dig in their substrate.

Do you have weight records for the 2 torts?

 

[biochemnerd808]

The one in the last 2 pics is a male, I think. Probably still young, the tail will get longer. The one in the first pics has a very female-looking tail.

I agree - good that you separated them.

So we were told that both Tilly & Eliza were both females, pretty sure Tilly is however Eliza I am not too sure about, she constantly attempts to nip Tilly and quite a while back one was seen mounting the other (unsure as to who was on top of who). We know this can be sometimes a sign of dominance and this seems to be the case with Eliza's constant need to nip Tilly.

Anyway I've attached photos of both torts, a basic pic, tail pic (Eliza's seems to be quite long in comparison to Tilly's) and one of them underneath. Hope someone could help determine the genders for sure and if possible age .

The first 3 are Tilly. Second 3 are Eliza.