Age and sex
- Thread starter chipjan2018
- Start date
Chip is a wild caught, imported tortoise. Full grown or very close to it. You can’t really tell age by looking at a tortoise, could be anywhere from five to twenty years old. But probably closer to five.
Looks female to me but perhaps still too early to say. At least too early for me to say!
Looks female to me but perhaps still too early to say. At least too early for me to say!
chipjan2018
New Member
Really you think she can be that old? she only weighs 9 oz. How big do you think she will get? I was told about a foot wideChip is a wild caught, imported tortoise. Full grown or very close to it. You can’t really tell age by looking at a tortoise, could be anywhere from five to twenty years old. But probably closer to five.
Looks female to me but perhaps still too early to say. At least too early for me to say!
Rusky
Active Member
She's a girl, but there's no way to tell how old. They grow completely differently in the wild based on their environment and diet. I believe the females usually max out at 8-10 inches. They grow slow, so they are fully mature and fertile at 5-6 inches.
Pretty sure russians don't get a foot wide...maybe 8 inches long as an adult(straight shell length). Depending on previous care a tortoise could be any size at any age...we see 5 year old sulcatas from 1 pound to 30 pounds...yours is PROBABLY young though...pet shop employees are good at talking out their hinies about things they know nothing about. If you got your little guy/girl there they probably sold you a ramped water bowl, coil bulb, and dial thermometer/hygrometers...all of which are crap.
The AVERAGE size for a female russian tortoise is 6 or 7 inches in a straight line, front to back. The AVERAGE size for males is slightly smaller than that. I said AVERAGE. Some get bigger, some never reach that size. There isn't a Russian alive that will be a foot wide.
She will get heavier, at least. Mine is not quite six inches and weighs 900 grams. Most of that weight gain has occured in the two years I’ve had her.
chipjan2018
New Member
she is approx 4 1/2 in long (shell) and 276 g
chipjan2018
New Member
Thanks
She’s got “some room to grow,” as my vet told me.
But he mostly meant “room to put on weight.” She’s added 40% of her weight in two years but only gotten a half inch longer, if that. She looks pretty much the same as when we got her. If I didn’t keep a record of her measurements I’d think she was the exact same size.Have fun fattening her up a bit; Russians love to eat!
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