Male or female?!

[DezAndBowser]

Help! Bowser “boy” is about 10 months.
Looking at the pics, would you say he’s a male or female?! Or is it still too early? Thanks

 

[teresaf]

Too early to tell yet. When he's a bit older post pics of him on his back in such a way that his belly (plastron)and tail are showing. Maybe when he's 2 or 3 but they all look female until they start showing male traits...

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome Dez, we are glad you’re here! I am positive Bowser is a girl...or a boy! Check back in four years.

Dez I see you are very new to the forum. I saw that someone provided you with the Russian care sheet. Have you had a chance to read it yet? That, and the beginners mistakes thread? Not to panic but I think your tortoise may be a little pyramided from being raised dry. (Maybe; I won’t swear to it.)

And the water bowl is a hazard; the care sheets will explain how to swap it out for a cheap clay saucer.

Beautiful tortoise, by the way.

 

[DezAndBowser]

Welcome Dez, we are glad you’re here! I am positive Bowser is a girl...or a boy! Check back in four years.

Dez I see you are very new to the forum. I saw that someone provided you with the Russian care sheet. Have you had a chance to read it yet? That, and the beginners mistakes thread? Not to panic but I think your tortoise may be a little pyramided from being raised dry. (Maybe; I won’t swear to it.)

And the water bowl is a hazard; the care sheets will explain how to swap it out for a cheap clay saucer.

Beautiful tortoise, by the way.

Ah are you serious?! no way!
This may sound stupid, but what do you mean by raised dry? What shall I do now?! [emoji24]

 

[Rusky]

Ah are you serious?! no way!
This may sound stupid, but what do you mean by raised dry? What shall I do now?! [emoji24]

Is that cypress mulch that you're using? To make it more humid, pour water in and mix it up to make it nice and damp. What sort of enclosure does Bowser have? You want something that has an enclosed top to keep humidity in.

 

[RosemaryDW]

This may sound stupid, but what do you mean by raised dry? What shall I do now?! [emoji24]

Russians come from an extremely dry area and this has led some breeders to believe that not only should adult Russian tortoises be kept extremely dry but the babies, too. It can mean many things but typically includes babies being placed on dry substrate (as you were initially advised to do) and keeping the babies at too low of overall humidity during rapid growth. It’s complicated but let’s just say when their shells don’t have the right humidity, the growth of the plates is pushed upward, into tiny pryamids, instead of growing smooth overall.

I see your baby in a very dry substrate, which sucks the moisture right out of them. I believe you have already changed it or on the way to doing so, so that’s good. I wonder how much humidity you are trapping in the enclosure? Have you read the thread on care of baby Russians? https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/b...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/. There are good examples of enclosures that will retain humidity while your baby is growing.

Again, it’s nothing horrible and can be managed. Don’t feel bad if you got something wrong; most of the information on the internet is quite out of date.