Sully sex at a young age.

[cemmons12]

I have read (many places) that a male sully is known for getting big fast, and putting on weight fast, and having a longer tail. That being said, Cooper is only around 7 or 8 months old, but the way he is growing is leading me to believe that he "MAY" be a male. I am very dumb when it comes to torts as this is my first, (but won't be the last) tort I've ever had. But could these clues be a good sign that he may be a male? I know from research that sex of little Cooper won't be known till he is about 6-8 years of age. And I am very sorry if my ignorance is a bother to anyone on the forum. I'm just sooo wanting to know the sex of my little (215gram) 7 month old sully.
Thanks to all and I'm sorry if this is a dumb post...

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Chris:

No need to apologize. If someone is bothered by your posts all they have to do is skip them and don't read it.

If you post a picture of your little guy's plastron, showing the anal scutes and the tail, we can give you our best guess on his sex.

 

[RV's mom]

No sucha thing as a dumb post (or stupid question). Agree with Yvonne ~ tip your tort and take a pic of the underside rear part .. this is the best way to allow us our best guess. We love to do that!!

teri

 

[Fernando]

My sulcata is going on 8 months now and is approximately 220-230 grams. I've been told it looks like a female. I don't think growth spurts play THAT big of a role in determining sex. But like Yvonne suggested, post a pic and the Pro's will give it their best shot.

 

[dmarcus]

I agree, keep asking questions no matter. "the only stupid question, is the one that didn't get asked" Definitely post photo's of the plaston and we can all give it a go at guessing the sex..

 

[cemmons12]

Hope this picture goes, a lot of the time I can't get the pictures on here from my droid.. Thanks to all!

 

[Yvonne G]

Looks like a boy to me.

 

[cemmons12]

Looks like a boy to me.

Thank you! Kind of what I was thinking from everything I have read, but then again I am just a newbie!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Young, very possible male.....

 

[Kristina]

Can we see pics of the rest of him? Looks like he has some interesting colors.

 

[cemmons12]

Can we see pics of the rest of him? Looks like he has some interesting colors.

Here are 2 more I took over the last couple of weeks.

 

[cemmons12]

Can we see pics of the rest of him? Looks like he has some interesting colors.

Here are 2 more I took over the last couple of weeks.

This picture is of Cooper biting my wifes finger nail. It is so odd, he will chase it around just to bite it. And sometimes he will even bite her finger. Anybody else ever had or heard of a sully doing this to someone? He has never done it to me, just the wife. He cracks me up!

 

[Tom]

In regards to your thread title, I think they should wait until they are older and married...

 

[cemmons12]

In regards to your thread title, I think they should wait until they are older and married...

I tried to tell him, but he is such a frisky little tortoise!

---

Can we see pics of the rest of him? Looks like he has some interesting colors.

Hey Kristina! Let me know what u think of my little tort. Also, since u live close to indiana, do u know a good place to get a russian? The one I was gonna get was sold by the time I went back...
Also, would a young sully and russian get along in the same space as long as they are young and have enough hiding spots?
Thanks!!!

 

[Kristina]

He is very pretty, nice and dark. I have two now, one is blonde and the other darker colored, and I will have three more soon

I purchased my 4 Russians off of www.kingsnake.com There is one particular seller there that I had a very bad experience with, if you PM me I will give you the name and also a link to the thread I posted on the fauna classifieds BOI (Board of Inquiry) with the nasty emails he sent me and pics of the sick tortoise he sent me.

I know Tyler Stewart, who is a member here, has both young an adult Russians for sale now. His site is www.tortoisesupply.com and he is a trusted seller.

As far as co-habitating a Russian and a Sully - bad idea. There are a couple of reasons. For one, as I said I have both Russians and Sulcatas. My Sullies are 6 months old, and are almost as big as my 10 year old Russians. In a few months, they will be bigger than my Russians, and in a few more months, they will be big enough to CRUSH my Russians. Imagine how you would feel if you were locked in a room with a guy that was bigger than you and didn't care if he pushed you around, ate all your food, walked all over you, and sometimes rammed you really hard and bit you. You would not be a very happy camper. A Russian tortoise will never get bigger than 8" or so (for a female, males more like 6") and weigh around 1200 grams. A Sulcata can reach up to 36" and over 150 lbs. It just won't work.

Second reason - they come from completely different regions of the world. Sulcatas are found in the Sahel region right below the Sahara in Africa. Russians are found in the steppe region of Russia/Asia. In the wild, they would never come into contact with each other. They each have their own pathogens and parasites that are natural to them. Because they don't mix in the wild, one may be carrying something that it is immune to, but could kill the other. Think of how devastating smallpox was to the Native American tribes. The Europeans had some resistance to it. We didn't. Entire tribes were wiped out.

It is completely possible to keep both tortoises, but, they need to have their own habitats. And also keep in mind that living in Indiana, you are going to have your hands FULL with that Sully in the next winter or two!

 

[cemmons12]

He is very pretty, nice and dark. I have two now, one is blonde and the other darker colored, and I will have three more soon

I purchased my 4 Russians off of www.kingsnake.com There is one particular seller there that I had a very bad experience with, if you PM me I will give you the name and also a link to the thread I posted on the fauna classifieds BOI (Board of Inquiry) with the nasty emails he sent me and pics of the sick tortoise he sent me.

I know Tyler Stewart, who is a member here, has both young an adult Russians for sale now. His site is www.tortoisesupply.com and he is a trusted seller.

As far as co-habitating a Russian and a Sully - bad idea. There are a couple of reasons. For one, as I said I have both Russians and Sulcatas. My Sullies are 6 months old, and are almost as big as my 10 year old Russians. In a few months, they will be bigger than my Russians, and in a few more months, they will be big enough to CRUSH my Russians. Imagine how you would feel if you were locked in a room with a guy that was bigger than you and didn't care if he pushed you around, ate all your food, walked all over you, and sometimes rammed you really hard and bit you. You would not be a very happy camper. A Russian tortoise will never get bigger than 8" or so (for a female, males more like 6") and weigh around 1200 grams. A Sulcata can reach up to 36" and over 150 lbs. It just won't work.

Second reason - they come from completely different regions of the world. Sulcatas are found in the Sahel region right below the Sahara in Africa. Russians are found in the steppe region of Russia/Asia. In the wild, they would never come into contact with each other. They each have their own pathogens and parasites that are natural to them. Because they don't mix in the wild, one may be carrying something that it is immune to, but could kill the other. Think of how devastating smallpox was to the Native American tribes. The Europeans had some resistance to it. We didn't. Entire tribes were wiped out.

It is completely possible to keep both tortoises, but, they need to have their own habitats. And also keep in mind that living in Indiana, you are going to have your hands FULL with that Sully in the next winter or two!

Thank you for all the advice! I knew keeping them together long term wasn't an option, I was just talking short term, but now, knowing of the problems each one may cause the other, I understand completly. We are now looking into selling our house to buy a bigger house on some land because for one we have 2 horses that we keep at a friends farm, and for 2 I want an extra room for Cooper to have of his own. But we also want a bigger house anyways and want to get out of the city. So I hope by the time he gets 50 or so pounds he will have his own little room. I knew what I was getting myself into when I bought him as far as his size goes. My ignorance has only bit me once so far because I wasn't keeping him warm enough at first, but I won't make that mistake again. It was a pretty hefty exotic vet bill. But I have done so much reading I feel confident about raising him now. My wife wanted me to get a blonde, but I won't buy any big torts until we sell our house and move. So I thought a russian would be a good size to get if we decide to get another in the mean time. Plus I have read they have great personality's. I just hope its somwhere close to Coopers. Does Tyler raise his hatchlings? Well got to run, thanks for everything!!