Russian Sexing.

[T33's Torts]

Hello!
Today I was flashed by my supposed FEMALE Russian, Shelly. Now I think I have 2:3 but clearly my sexing skill is lacking. I took these pictures a while back, so if better ones are needed I can take more. Lets begin.

So here's the first one. I'm pretty sure he's male.
#1; Bob. 4.89 inches


#2; Killer. 5.30 inches


#3; Shelly. 6.27 inches (flasher)


#4; Sandie. 5.41 inches


#5; Fern. 5.50 inches

---

Thanks!

 

[tortoisetime565]

What is the 2.3 referencing? I've never heard of this numbering system.,. This might not be the place to post it. Sorry.

 

[jaizei]

I don't trust my sexing skills until I get flashed.

What is the 2.3 referencing? I've never heard of this numbering system.,. This might not be the place to post it. Sorry.

The numbers refer to males.females. Sometimes you'll see 3 numbers and the third refers to unsexed animals.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

2.3 is a reference to the male.female ratio. Where the first is male and the second is female.

 

[tortoisetime565]

So I have one male and one female russian so it's 1.1 russian?

 

[T33's Torts]

1.1 Russians.

 

[AZtortMom]

Sandie has a tiny tail, IMO Sandi looks like the only female in the group

 

[tortoisetime565]

Okay. Isn't the recommended for any species to have two females to one male for breeding and stress purposes?

 

[T33's Torts]

Not every species. 1:1 isn't a great idea for any species.

 

[tortoisetime565]

I mean to have 1 male to two females... 1:2?

 

[T33's Torts]

Well, Russians ot depends on the actual animals. Sulcatas are good in 1:2 I think. I'm not positive about any other species.

---

Sandie has a tiny tail, IMO Sandi looks like the only female in the group

Eeeeeek! She's also the only immature one, at around 21 months... or so I'm told.

 

[AZtortMom]

Are you hoping she stays female?

 

[tortoisetime565]

Okay. I have two redfoots two Russians and one sulcata. They are all kept separate. Except for my Russians.

 

[Tom]

Okay. Isn't the recommended for any species to have two females to one male for breeding and stress purposes?

This is a great big generality, and there are a lot of exceptions. It really depends on the species and individuals involved. For example, Jacqui has some hinge backs that are in pairs and she reports that they do quite well that way for her. One of my adult male sulcatas was a super breeder and he did best when I kept him with 5 or 6 females. I don't think two would have been enough to spread his attention around. My other male raised with the first one is a really mellow dude, and he might be okay alone with just one female, but I wouldn't try it. Better to have two or three just in case. I have seen Indian stars kept as pairs without any problem and leopards are sometimes mellow enough too. I think for most species, most of the time 1.2 is a good minimum to start with, but things must be watched and evaluated constantly, with adjustments made as needed. Russians and sulcatas have such a wide variety of temperaments that is is hard to make such a generality though. And my South African leopards are WAY more aggressive and pushy than regular leopards.

 

[tortoisetime565]

Okay. Isn't the recommended for any species to have two females to one male for breeding and stress purposes?

This is a great big generality, and there are a lot of exceptions. It really depends on the species and individuals involved. For example, Jacqui has some hinge backs that are in pairs and she reports that they do quite well that way for her. One of my adult male sulcatas was a super breeder and he did best when I kept him with 5 or 6 females. I don't think two would have been enough to spread his attention around. My other male raised with the first one is a really mellow dude, and he might be okay alone with just one female, but I wouldn't try it. Better to have two or three just in case. I have seen Indian stars kept as pairs without any problem and leopards are sometimes mellow enough too. I think for most species, most of the time 1.2 is a good minimum to start with, but things must be watched and evaluated constantly, with adjustments made as needed. Russians and sulcatas have such a wide variety of temperaments that is is hard to make such a generality though. And my South African leopards are WAY more aggressive and pushy than regular leopards.

Okay. Thanks slot! I'm thinking of rescuing some sulcatas. But I'm just exploring my options.

 

[T33's Torts]

Re: RE: Russian Sexing.

Are you hoping she stays female?

Not really. I dont really want the tiny chances of egg bound-ness or them being stressed. It may be time to form another enclosure.

 

[biochemnerd808]

To me, only Sandie looks female. The others look male, but the vent would need to be visible.

Also, you might already know, but Bob has some bad shell rot going on on his plastron. I would separate him, and swab his shell with diluted iodine solution (available at Walgreens or other drug stores for $3), and then once that has dried, rinse him off, let him dry, and then apply foot fungus cream (active ingredient clotrimazole) to his plastron 2x daily for 4 weeks.

Hello!
Today I was flashed by my supposed FEMALE Russian, Shelly. Now I think I have 2:3 but clearly my sexing skill is lacking. I took these pictures a while back, so if better ones are needed I can take more. Lets begin.

So here's the first one. I'm pretty sure he's male.
#1; Bob. 4.89 inches


#2; Killer. 5.30 inches


#3; Shelly. 6.27 inches (flasher)


#4; Sandie. 5.41 inches


#5; Fern. 5.50 inches

---

Thanks!

---

---

Oh, and if you would like, here is an article about how to sex your tortoise, with lots of pictures and a diagram: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-86957.html

 

[T33's Torts]

Yes, Bob is a new rescue
I did see that thread, and thought my Shelly was female.

---

To add onto that-
I got him because of the rot, and have been treating it for 2 weeks. There is little to no improvement so I'm just going to continue until I can see its gone. He's already isolated, that's why I can't afford to set up another area.

 

[biochemnerd808]

Oh good. I figured you probably already knew about the rot, considering that you have several tortoises.

Once the fungus is dead, it will likely take years for it to heal, but tortoises are pretty amazing in that given the proper environment and food, they will heal.

For the rest of the group, you might have a smaller rubbermaid bin next to the main enclosure to put a bullying tortoise in a time-out. Or, if it gets too stressful, you can always find a friend to infect with the tortoise bug. My own rule is that I don't keep male rescues, since I already have a male, and so when they are fully rehabilitated, I find a family for him. Several of my friends here in town now have a tortoise too. Win-win!

Yes, Bob is a new rescue
I did see that thread, and thought my Shelly was female.

---

To add onto that-
I got him because of the rot, and have been treating it for 2 weeks. There is little to no improvement so I'm just going to continue until I can see its gone. He's already isolated, that's why I can't afford to set up another area.

---

 

[T33's Torts]

I usually time-out a male that 'in his mood' in the Christmas tree bin. Its not quite suitable for long time housing and I really don't have tge resources to set up another planter box. That'd be the 4th enclosure.

I think Bob is just going to stay separated forever, as he is very small (growth stunted by dog attack in '10) and will get bullied.