PLEASE HELP! russian tortoise sex/gender confusion

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russian tortoise boy

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i have a 5 inch russian tortoise and many people said its a female. in some reason i was searching on the internet about russian tortoise and i saw this sentence "Until a male reaches 5" they often appear the same as a female", (when i read that sentence this thing pops out in my mind " my female might become a male in some time cause she's only in 5 inches?" )so i was worried that my female might be a male! please tell me that my russian is not a male because i want mine to be a female.

here is the video of her tail : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYStStlxKD8
 

dmmj

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Just to clear up some confusion, it won't magically become a male, just that male characteristics will show up it has always been male. If it is 5 inches Scute to tail, then I think it is safe to say it is a female, nice short fat tail.
 

Irwin4530

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I say female too.
Also I was reading all of the questions you posted under your video. You will deff. need a bigger enclosure and I would reccomend looking under enclosures and reading all about the needs of you tort under the russian tortoise section. She has a long beak and long nails (easy to fix with some rocks and a cuttlebone) and I do see what you mean about the marks on her shell but would need you to take a picture so we can see it a bit better. it could be an old injury or something that needs attention. Dont worry...everything is easy to fix.

In my opinion you should get her taken care of and not buy a tort from pet smart/co......you will be able to find a healthy one on here or from a more reputable breeder. the pet store ones are often sick and wild caught.

She looks like a very nice tort!!! CONGRATS!
 

russian tortoise boy

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Irwin4530 said:
I say female too.
Also I was reading all of the questions you posted under your video. You will deff. need a bigger enclosure and I would reccomend looking under enclosures and reading all about the needs of you tort under the russian tortoise section. She has a long beak and long nails (easy to fix with some rocks and a cuttlebone) and I do see what you mean about the marks on her shell but would need you to take a picture so we can see it a bit better. it could be an old injury or something that needs attention. Dont worry...everything is easy to fix.

In my opinion you should get her taken care of and not buy a tort from pet smart/co......you will be able to find a healthy one on here or from a more reputable breeder. the pet store ones are often sick and wild caught.

She looks like a very nice tort!!! CONGRATS!
oh that enclosure is fixed, and her nails and beak were fixed too, trimmed it myself i will post a pic of her in a minute


dmmj said:
Just to clear up some confusion, it won't magically become a male, just that male characteristics will show up it has always been male. If it is 5 inches Scute to tail, then I think it is safe to say it is a female, nice short fat tail.
what do you mean Scute to tail, like her shell length?
 

lynnedit

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Yes, her shell length, underneath. Push her up gently against a wall on a piece of paper, then mark the other end and measure.
 
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