Re: Sulcata: is she? or is he?

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

Posted by Diane L on September 15, 2000 at 20:02:15:

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

Same here - I was quite sure I had a female, then saw the penis. I, too, thought it was a prolapse but it went in. When I saw it again I actually took her (him) to the vet. It is now mating season, and in addition my sulcate is also just reaching maturity (about 4 years old) so it's not uncommon for the penis to be showing itself. i also see it during defecation. So --- I guess I will have a big guy instead of what I thought would be my girl. Actually, in the sulcata, the plastron isn't significantly different between males and females. In fact the outward gender characteristics are quite subtle. But now I do see a slight concavity beginning to be more obvious.

: : 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.

: Well guys....I'm not so sure. We just had that same question come up at our house. We have a three and a half year old that with defecation also showed what appeared to be a penis but didn't quite look like one. For lack a better example, it had a calla lily shape to it. It too retracted quickly. We just yesterday brought into our family of critters a 35 pound, approx. seven year old, suppose to be male sulcata. Will here too we witnessed with defecation what no doubt in our minds was a penis. Not to mention that this big boy is very interested in our other sulcata and they have yet been put together. Also our other sulcata did not want to appear on the seen this morning and when he/SHE did, immediately decided to hide. So what do the rest of you think?

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:
: Same here - I was quite sure I had a female, then saw the penis. I, too, thought it was a prolapse but it went in. When I saw it again I actually took her (him) to the vet. It is now mating season, and in addition my sulcate is also just reaching maturity (about 4 years old) so it's not uncommon for the penis to be showing itself. i also see it during defecation. So --- I guess I will have a big guy instead of what I thought would be my girl. Actually, in the sulcata, the plastron isn't significantly different between males and females. In fact the outward gender characteristics are quite subtle. But now I do see a slight concavity beginning to be more obvious. : : : : 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. : : Well guys....I'm not so sure. We just had that same question come up at our house. We have a three and a half year old that with defecation also showed what appeared to be a penis but didn't quite look like one. For lack a better example, it had a calla lily shape to it. It too retracted quickly. We just yesterday brought into our family of critters a 35 pound, approx. seven year old, suppose to be male sulcata. Will here too we witnessed with defecation what no doubt in our minds was a penis. Not to mention that this big boy is very interested in our other sulcata and they have yet been put together. Also our other sulcata did not want to appear on the seen this morning and when he/SHE did, immediately decided to hide. So what do the rest of you think?

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

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