Mediterranean turtles

Question
Hello, I live in Athens, Greece and have two turtles that live in my yard.
They already mated once last year. Two months I saw one of the turtles in
a pool of blood, very thick, red blood. At first I thought my dog injured it
and the turtle was dead, but when I moved it a little, the turtle livened up
and walked away from blood like nothing had happened. What could that
be? I don't even know if it is the male or the female.

Answer
Hi Elli,

Did you see any kind of injuries on the tortoise?  If there were no external injuries, then either the blood was internal (expelled from either the mouth or the cloaca/rear end), or not related to the tortoise at all.  A large amount of blood isn't something a tortoise would be likely to walk away from with no apparent issues, so my guess is that the blood wasn't from the tortoise at all.  It's possible that another animal was killed and eaten on that spot and the tortoise just happened to be investigating.  I would keep a close eye on both your tortoises to make sure that they're still active and eating.  If you see anything amiss, consult a veterinarian.  I would also suggest keeping any dogs away from your tortoises, as dogs can cause serious injuries or death in a very short time.  Good luck with your tortoises.