Britannica
New Member
Hello, me again!
I really appreciate how this community has been so helpful in answering all of my newby questions. I now have a question about the maturity of my Russian tortoise.
I picked him up from a local feed/farm supply store yesterday. They were placing an order last week and I specifically asked for a young male. The employee assured me they order young but didn't state how old "young" means. When I questioned her she said they just order by sex and size, and that she would order me a 3-4 inch male RT. The sign on the tortoise enclosure at the store said "CAPTIVE BRED."
He appeared really young when I picked him up, but now that I have examined him closely at home I see marks on his shell, and his tail is completely curved to the side which I read is an indication of a mature male. His cloaca looks male from what I can compare to in online photos.
Can someone take a look at his photos and tell me if this is a mature tortoise and what that means? Also, does his shell appear to be in good shape? The silver "x" was put there by the store to indicate the one male they ordered.
I really appreciate how this community has been so helpful in answering all of my newby questions. I now have a question about the maturity of my Russian tortoise.
I picked him up from a local feed/farm supply store yesterday. They were placing an order last week and I specifically asked for a young male. The employee assured me they order young but didn't state how old "young" means. When I questioned her she said they just order by sex and size, and that she would order me a 3-4 inch male RT. The sign on the tortoise enclosure at the store said "CAPTIVE BRED."
He appeared really young when I picked him up, but now that I have examined him closely at home I see marks on his shell, and his tail is completely curved to the side which I read is an indication of a mature male. His cloaca looks male from what I can compare to in online photos.
Can someone take a look at his photos and tell me if this is a mature tortoise and what that means? Also, does his shell appear to be in good shape? The silver "x" was put there by the store to indicate the one male they ordered.