Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have had 3 Russians for about 2 years now and have noticed something strange. my 2 females have grown considerably since i acquired them but my male has not grown at all. while all of them have put on weight the male is still the same size in length, (no new white shell growth characterized by white shell)
the length of the females are about 5 1/2" - 6" but the male is dwarfed by them at about 4 1/2". I find it strange that a tortoise that lives for 50 years just stops growing. has this happened to any one else?

Richard
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1.1.3 Common Mud Turtles
0.0.2 R.E.S.
0.0.1 Y.B.S.
1.3.1 Russian Tortoises
0.1 Hamsters
3.0 Dogs
2.3 Family

>> I find it strange that a tortoise that lives for 50 years just stops growing. has this happened to any one else?
>>

1.1 adult russians I adopted about 5 years ago had a small growth spurt (female was about 6" and male about 5.25", but then they stopped. A female I purchased about 7-8 years ago went from 4" to about 7", but hasn't shown much if any growth over the last couple years. Several years ago I had a male that went from 4.25" to almost 4.5" over 3-4 years, but then appeared to stop.

So yes, it seems that they can reach a point where they stop growing or they are growing so slowly that it doesn't show for a long time.