Re: Sulcata: is she? or is he?

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Tortoise Forum ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by steve on June 11, 2000 at 20:42:27:

In Reply to: Re: Sulcata: is she? or is he? posted by Georgia on June 11, 2000 at 18:36:26:

: : I've had a sulcata for three years, it's about 14" long. Estimated age is about 4-5 years. I've always assumed it to be female because I saw no evidence of a concave plastron and the front (spikes) that the males use to flip one another are fairly short. Today while it wad deficating, I saw what appeared to be a penis come out about three inches. The end expanded somewhat like a mushroom and was actually quite a large diameter (maybe 1-1/2" dia). It didn't look to be a prolapse and was promptly retracted when business had been completed. Question, is there anything in the female waste management system that would account for what I saw? If it is in fact male, why wouldn't the other typical characteristics such as the concave plastron and the extended length front protrusions be evidenced? Also, the tail is fairly short, maybe one inch. What is the best way to tell males from females?
: : Thanks.

yours is a male also. male torts. are like male dogs, they'll try and DO anything they think they can succesfully breed with. i have a male redfoot who spends just a much time trying to mount my other male as he does trying to mount my big female. i think it's a dominence thing (pretty insulting to the smaller male) the female's anatomy contains nothing that resembles a purple mushroom.

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:
: : : : I've had a sulcata for three years, it's about 14" long. Estimated age is about 4-5 years. I've always assumed it to be female because I saw no evidence of a concave plastron and the front (spikes) that the males use to flip one another are fairly short. Today while it wad deficating, I saw what appeared to be a penis come out about three inches. The end expanded somewhat like a mushroom and was actually quite a large diameter (maybe 1-1/2" dia). It didn't look to be a prolapse and was promptly retracted when business had been completed. Question, is there anything in the female waste management system that would account for what I saw? If it is in fact male, why wouldn't the other typical characteristics such as the concave plastron and the extended length front protrusions be evidenced? Also, the tail is fairly short, maybe one inch. What is the best way to tell males from females? : : : Thanks. : yours is a male also. male torts. are like male dogs, they'll try and DO anything they think they can succesfully breed with. i have a male redfoot who spends just a much time trying to mount my other male as he does trying to mount my big female. i think it's a dominence thing (pretty insulting to the smaller male) the female's anatomy contains nothing that resembles a purple mushroom.

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Tortoise Forum ] [ FAQ ]