Gender

Luke52

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MALE3EDD9A51-35F4-4DA8-B248-93CBDAEEE1B0.jpeg C0C34774-3132-4959-B74B-1B9B1B6599A2.jpeg FEMALE AF4D242A-5DD8-4854-BCD3-54A66B00473E.jpeg C29A9F74-A120-4AA3-A608-C2832598E25A.jpeg I’m 99.99% sure this is a female I just saw a thread and wondered they are Russians one of them is for sure a male I’m just showing what a male looks like. That is a female right?
 

wellington

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Yes, the male looks like a male and the female looks like a female too me.
Be sure you do not house them together.
 

Luke52

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That was sooooo helpful I read all of it! I thought I was doing everything right I need to replace their bowl for a shallow one which I have but am not using and I’m going to breed them if I had hatchling I would not have known to give them a bath every day. I’m keeping a male and female Russian tortoise together in a giant cage I hope this will work but I will separate them if they fight, thank you sooooo much
 

Luke52

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The male seems laid back and not fighting at all if he breeds to much and injures her I will either buy 2 more females or just separate them with bricks running through the middle of the cage I promise I’m responsible and I hope this works many websites advice against this but I’m giving it a chance it’s day 5 of housing them together I have a bin for hatchlings and my friend has an incubator I can use.
 

TechnoCheese

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The male seems laid back and not fighting at all if he breeds to much and injures her I will either buy 2 more females or just separate them with bricks running through the middle of the cage I promise I’m responsible and I hope this works many websites advice against this but I’m giving it a chance it’s day 5 of housing them together I have a bin for hatchlings and my friend has an incubator I can use.

If you really want to breed, you need to get two more females, or keep them separated and only put them together for short amounts of time to breed. Russians are one of the scrappiest tortoises, and being together causes so much stress. You might not see bullying happening, because most bullying is mental. The ranges from cuddling(which is really crowding) to following(really chasing) and everywhere in between that we can see. I would separate them, or start a group.
How large is your enclosure?
 

Luke52

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I rarely see them sleeping together the female has walked over the male several times and he does nothing maybe because the cage is big
 

Luke52

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I wonder how old he is he’s 6 inches I think he may be an older tortoise if that means anything
 

Eduardo Hernandez

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Those water bowls are not good for torts, you want something that they don't have to climb into. A terra-cotta bowl sunken into the ground works great for this.

It would only really for with 3 females to every male, and you'll need a slightly bigger enclosure with lots of sight barriers for that. Just because there is no physical bullying, doesn't mean one isn't mentally bullying the other.
 

Eduardo Hernandez

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Almost the same way humans bully one another. Staring down the weaker tort, crowding them, making sure they don't have access to the best sleeping areas, food, etc. If they avoid each other, it could be that the weaker one knows not to bother the other tort. Tortoises really don't thrive in pairs, they tend to be solitary creatures unless they're in large groups
 

Luke52

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I give 2 bowls and fresh veggies which is more then they can eat and the’ve never crowded each other and I check them at night and sometimes even sleep together I’ve seen the girl shove the boy out of the way once lol. I’m not Trying to call you out your right everyone says this I’m just hoping for the best I will seperate them if I see aggression thanks so much
 

Eduardo Hernandez

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Sleeping together is crowding. They don't cuddle, its one tort trying to bother the other tort and prevent them from sleeping. I know it can be bit hard to understand at first, but these are very subtle signs that are good to look out for before it becomes too late.
 

Luke52

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Does that m an the girl is more dominant?! She’s the one who digs down to get to him
 

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