Newly rescued Russian, can you confirm the sex?

NUGGET79

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We just rescued this 6” Russian tortoise. The rescue said it’s an immature female, but I thought I would double check. I do think it matches the female pictures better on the sexing russians post, but it does look longer than I would expect. They have no information on the background of the tortoise, only that it was surrendered by the previous owner. I am brand new to tortoise keeping so I appreciate the help!

87D66C59-4C5B-4EA8-B756-41DBDA948C2C.jpegBBC0B2E4-D08B-450E-AC80-6BA058789D5C.jpeg
 
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LasTortugasNinja

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Female. males have long tails they tuck to the side of their leg.
 

Yvonne G

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I would say that's an immature male. In the mediterranean species the male cloaca is a line shape and is close to the tip of the tail. The female cloaca is star shape and is closer to the body.
 
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LasTortugasNinja

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I would say that's an immature male. In the mediterranean species the male cloaca is a line shape and is close to the tip of the tail. The female cloaca is star shape and is closer to the body.
Now that I'm looking on my PC and not a small phone image, yeah... Yvonne is right.
 

MichaelL

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That is either one of the largest female tails I've seen or the smallest male tail. At six inches, a male would have a huge tail, so I'm saying female. It just looks abnormally large for a female, but a male's would be even larger.
 

NUGGET79

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That is either one of the largest female tails I've seen or the smallest male tail. At six inches, a male would have a huge tail, so I'm saying female. It just looks abnormally large for a female, but a male's would be even larger.
Glad I’m not the only one. It definitely seems in between for either one! The rescue is dedicated to birds and reptiles, so I thought they should be correct. But then I started looking at pictures and got confused.
 

NUGGET79

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Before they hit puberty, males and females look very similar. The position and shape of the vent is the best indicator to go by, but even that is not always 100% reliable. Just give a gender neutral name and go from there. ;)
Wouldn’t you think a 6” male would be past puberty?
 

Yvonne G

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Sometimes a male doesn't have the full blown characteristics if he's lived alone for a long time. In this case you have to go by the position and shape of the cloaca.
 

HoosierTort

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I’m pretty sure nothing is abnormal about this male tortoise’s tail. It’s simply curved back towards the camera so it appears shorter than it really is. Perhaps a few more pics might clear this all up?
 

HoosierTort

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Sometimes a male doesn't have the full blown characteristics if he's lived alone for a long time. In this case you have to go by the position and shape of the cloaca.
It’s definitely lower than any female I’ve ever seen. I think it’s just curved back as the tip is blurry suggesting it is closer to the camera than the plastron that is in focus.
 

MichaelL

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I think the reasons I believe it is female are: -At six inches, a full grown male would have a VERY long tail (but Yvonne said some can have shorter if in extended isolation) so maybe that is wrong
-But also, it is carrying it down, it doesn't have the pronounced hook, and it has lots of fat deposits more like a female.
-Apparently everyone is saying it is male, so I'm prob wrong but those are just my reasons..
tortuga tail.JPGBBC0B2E4-D08B-450E-AC80-6BA058789D5C.jpeg
 

HoosierTort

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Looks can be deceiving. Only one female in these pics and that’s the 3rd. See how close the cloaca is to her plastron? The first one is a nearly 6” male but has a smaller tail. He’s been solo his whole life and just came around my females this week. I can check to see if there is any facts on if it will get longer, but I know it’s a male. Btw, I know what each are 100%.


I think the reasons I believe it is female are: -At six inches, a full grown male would have a VERY long tail (but Yvonne said some can have shorter if in extended isolation) so maybe that is wrong
-But also, it is carrying it down, it doesn't have the pronounced hook, and it has lots of fat deposits more like a female.
-Apparently everyone is saying it is male, so I'm prob wrong but those are just
DC46A721-6DA4-4C0E-8EEA-1DA9B5254973.pngDCD8DFBF-078E-43FB-A212-492C50E3ADBF.png4F99E358-AE91-4EAA-B349-84B7C3B806BF.png7EC51288-2170-43A7-8221-313C1289AE05.png
 
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Tom

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Looks can be deceiving. Only one female in these pics and that’s the 3rd. See how close the cloaca is to her plastron? The first one is a nearly 6” male but has a smaller tail. He’s been solo his whole life and just came around my females this week. I can check to see if there is any facts on if it will get longer, but I know it’s a male. Btw, I know what each are 100%.
Can't see the tail in the first pic.
Second one in the hand is an obvious male.
Third one under the red light is an obvious female.
Fourth one has some sort of injury or deformity, but looks male.
 

MichaelL

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Looks can be deceiving. Only one female in these pics and that’s the 3rd. See how close the cloaca is to her plastron? The first one is a nearly 6” male but has a smaller tail. He’s been solo his whole life and just came around my females this week. I can check to see if there is any facts on if it will get longer, but I know it’s a male. Btw, I know what each are 100%.


View attachment 292935View attachment 292936View attachment 292937View attachment 292938
Yeah.. the cloaca is not close to the body at all.. I guess male then. Thanks
 

HoosierTort

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Can't see the tail in the first pic.
Second one in the hand is an obvious male.
Third one under the red light is an obvious female.
Fourth one has some sort of injury or deformity, but looks male.
Spot on. The first one(male) hides his tiny little thing.
As for the last one, no clue as to what it was, but he’s all healed up now. He is the ugliest most tore up male Russian I’ve ever had. Names “Mug” bc it’s that ugly. Loves the ladies and won’t turn up a challenger, or quit! Ugly, but fun to watch.
 

HoosierTort

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Yeah.. the cloaca is not close to the body at all.. I guess male then. Thanks
Can't see the tail in the first pic.
Second one in the hand is an obvious male.
Third one under the red light is an obvious female.
Fourth one has some sort of injury or deformity, but looks male.
Face is scarred up and had to split him up as he won’t quit, but also can’t submit an older larger male... Hopefully he learns one day and I won’t have to keep a second enclosure for the bad boy..D5C1C92A-5099-445B-8D1A-354BAF7C1A2C.jpegDC2FFCBF-F3BD-4341-9E7F-163B35D41521.jpeg8BF9F683-21EE-461C-AC80-E9289A86A47B.jpegA4D37F64-55AE-44D9-8D34-0BE0E9A1C420.jpeg549472DC-DEE9-4212-8FCC-A6A9993FDF41.jpeg
 

MichaelL

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