Let's play.....what's the sex??

I have had Eloise for a year now and she has grown a lot. I measured the other day and she's up to 5 inches!! That is about an inch of growth since I got her!! Now I'm no expert here and I still have tons to learn but I think the next thing I should learn is the actual sex of my tortoise. So let's play.....What's the sex?

Don't mind my little bit of cabbage on my belly mom gave me a treat tonight.

Does my butt look big? haha haha!

RE: Let's olay.....what's the sex??

I say Eloise is a perfect name for HER. That's my guess, I'm it good at it though. But I think I'm right this time.

Let's olay.....what's the sex??

Thanks for the response I was hoping to get a few more opinions...guess she stays a girl

RE: Let's olay.....what's the sex??

She's FEMALE

I'm pretty sure your little male tortoise is going to love being called "Eloise!!"

The cloaca is a slit, like males (star shape for females), and its close to the tip of the tail instead of close to the body. Also, its a pretty big tail for a female.

Im going to say you have a male also.

Yvonne G said:

I'm pretty sure your little male tortoise is going to love being called "Eloise!!"

The cloaca is a slit, like males (star shape for females), and its close to the tip of the tail instead of close to the body. Also, its a pretty big tail for a female.

Click to expand...

I was worried you'd say that... So now to decide if renaming is necessary. Lol I'm more worried about explaining this to my six year old...oh the questions!

Personally, I'm a big fan of un-appropriate names. I like seeing a giant Galapagos tortoise named Tiny. Or a big male sulcata called Snookums. I think Eloise is just find for your tortoise.

It's a female. A male of that species would have a much larger tail. Google male russian tortoises and see the difference.

Look at this:

http://www.russiantortoise.net/male_female.htm

I am guessing female too. Guessing is the word . The shell does not go towards the ground and the tail is not long tucking to the side.

Oh dear I hope Eloise isn't as confused about all of this as I am.... There really are good points coming in from all sides. The cloaca is more of a slit than a * but the tail isn't as long as the ones in the pictures on the Russian care sheet but El does tuck it up tight like a male.... Katie posted an excellent diagram which got me wondering about the gender in the first place and I think it resembles a young male but this is my first and so far only tort so I'm no more qualified to determine the answer than my left shoe! Oh goodness! Yvonne you have a lot of experience I tend to trust your opinion how much margin for error do we have here at still only 5 inches.

Remember, guys, the tortoise is pretty young, and just barely 5".

I say female too. I had a colony of Russians and there is a big difference. The males have a longer tail that is much narrower at the tip where the nail on the end would be. Also, a male Russian can wrap their tail around either back leg. This females tail would never make it.