It can be rather confusing when trying to figure out if your tortoise is male or female. For years, the tortoise may look female, until the day that is doesn’t any longer. But, you’ll find that questioning the gender of a pet Russian tortoise is one of the most common questions asked.
In order to determine if a Russian tortoise is male or female, the easiest way is to look at the tortoise’s tail.
Russian Tortoise Tail
The easiest way to tell the difference between Russian tortoise males and females is by looking at the tail. A fully grown, adult male Russian tortoise will have a long, tin and pointed tail. A male’s tail is often carried to the side. An adult female Russian tortoise will have a short, fat and triangular tail.
Russian Tortoise Cloaca
Because male Russian tortoises have a longer tail, the cloaca is at the tip of the tail, versus on an adult female, the cloaca is close to the body. A male’s cloaca is shaped like a slit in the tail, whereas a female’s is shaped like an asterisk.
Russian Tortoise Size
You can’t always use the tortoise’s size as a clear indicator for Russian tortoise male versus female, as some tortoises naturally grow larger than others. However, female Russian tortoises average larger than males. Female Russian tortoises average 6 – 10 inches long. Male Russian tortoises average 5 – 8 inches long.
Tortoise Shell
In many species of tortoises, you can look at the plastron of the tortoise. Males will often have a concave plastron, whereas females will have a flat plastron. However, with Russian tortoises, both males and females will have a flat plastron.
You may also find some tortoise species that will have different shaped bodies between males and females. For instance female red foot tortoises often have a ‘wasp waist’ or the male hingeback tortoises are more elongated and the females are rounder. Russian tortoises, both male and female, tend to have the same round shape.
That said, it can be very hard, to tell the difference between a male and female Russian tortoise when looking at the shape of the tortoise shell. The best method to determining the gender of a Russian tortoise is to assess the tail.
