Can I sex my tortoises?

[Speedy and Pokey TheTorts]

Hi I have two marginated tortoises, they are both 3 years old and about 5-6 inches long. Can I sex them? If so here are some pics. Thanks!

 

[wellington]

My guess is first one Male and second one female.

 

[Yvonne G]

In the Testudo tortoises a slit-shaped cloaca is male and a asterisk-shaped cloaca is female.

 

[Speedy and Pokey TheTorts]

Thanks!

 

[Speedy and Pokey TheTorts]

In the Testudo tortoises a slit-shaped cloaca is male and a asterisk-shaped cloaca is female.

Hi another question, If I don’t Brumaire my tortoises will they mate? Because I don’t want them to mate if they are male and female. Thanks!

 

[Speedy and Pokey TheTorts]

Hi another question, If I don’t Brumaire my tortoises will they mate? Because I don’t want them to mate if they are male and female. Thanks!

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Hello, welcome to the forum!

Yes, if one is male and the other is female, at some point the male will pursue the female to try to mate. This will cause stress to the female if he's constantly harassing her.

It's best to keep tortoises separate and not to keep them together in pairs. They may seem like they get along to us, but because they're so territorial, they're constantly stressed out. One will always become dominant over the other and you'll end up with one healthy tort and the other will be small and/or sickly.