gender

[lynnefay]

Hello all.
Do Female Russian tortoises bob their heads at other females?
Do Female Russian tortoises walk with their tails straight out or can they carry them tucked over?
I have one male Russian. Definitely a male. One female Russian, definitley a female.
Then I have Charlotte Igor. Had thin tail when I got them, they were under weight. I thought male. They have sinced blossom and I thought, ah, female.
Then they have been head bobbing at my female, and tucking their short broad tail over when they are out and about...
I'm confused. But! tail and poop shoot look female.
It doesn't really matter, I guess, but this summer I was planning to put all three together in a giant outside enclosure. I thought I had the ratio correct, maybe even adding a third female... but now...?????????????????????
(They all live in separate indoor enclosures. I was just out sitting in the solarium, letting them run and around and noticed this).
Answers to my 2 first questions are welcome Also, when I posted pictures of Charlotte Igor's bits here before, everyone said female. Her/his bits are my profile picture.

 

[Noelluene]

Definitely female. Sometimes they bob their heads because their necks puff when breathing which may press against their plastron and looks like they are bobbing their heads.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I don't keep Russian tortoises. But I know that they are just about the most animated and reactionary tortoises when it comes to other torts nearby.
As for that action meaning male or female, my group of Redfoot consists of only females. And I have one that acts overly aggressive. Most UN ladylike.
She's just as vocal and anti social as any male.

 

[ZenHerper]

@jsheffield

 

[jsheffield]

@jsheffield

I've seen my females engage in head-bobbing, when they were first put in their new enclosure with the other females... I think it's a pecking-order thing, and those three are all females for sure.

Jamie

 

[biochemnerd808]

Hello all.
Do Female Russian tortoises bob their heads at other females?
Do Female Russian tortoises walk with their tails straight out or can they carry them tucked over?
I have one male Russian. Definitely a male. One female Russian, definitley a female.
Then I have Charlotte Igor. Had thin tail when I got them, they were under weight. I thought male. They have sinced blossom and I thought, ah, female.
Then they have been head bobbing at my female, and tucking their short broad tail over when they are out and about...
I'm confused. But! tail and poop shoot look female.
It doesn't really matter, I guess, but this summer I was planning to put all three together in a giant outside enclosure. I thought I had the ratio correct, maybe even adding a third female... but now...?????????????????????
(They all live in separate indoor enclosures. I was just out sitting in the solarium, letting them run and around and noticed this).
Answers to my 2 first questions are welcome Also, when I posted pictures of Charlotte Igor's bits here before, everyone said female. Her/his bits are my profile picture.

Both males and females bob heads. It's kind of a 'I recognize you are a tortoise. I too am a tortoise.' -social behavior. Females (especially when hormonal or gravid) will chase, bite, and mount other females. Acting 'male' is part of trying to establish doninance. In the wild, tortoises roam many square miles, so they only intersect occasionally.

 

[lynnefay]

Both males and females bob heads. It's kind of a 'I recognize you are a tortoise. I too am a tortoise.' -social behavior. Females (especially when hormonal or gravid) will chase, bite, and mount other females. Acting 'male' is part of trying to establish doninance. In the wild, tortoises roam many square miles, so they only intersect occasionally.

thank you