Can you already tell if my tortoise is male or female?

[cliocles]

Hello!
This is my 4 yr old tortoise (testudo hermanni boettgeri). I rescued it from my cousin because he got it for his kids and was keeping it in bad living conditions. Because of that the vet told me it grew way too fast. She told me last year that she could already tell that it is female. I am feeling a bit skeptical of this tho based on what i’ve read on the internet especially because it is still so young (plus the vet was a bit weird). Is it true that u can already determine the sex and if yes, is it true that it is a female tortoise? Thank you so much. Pls let me know if you need more pictures (different angles etc.).

 

[wellington]

Looking female. However, with the bad care it had, it may be delayed in maturing. Most if not all tortoises look female until they have matured enough and in good conditions to actually tell it's sex
For now though, yours is a female

 

[cliocles]

Looking female. However, with the bad care it had, it may be delayed in maturing. Most if not all tortoises look female until they have matured enough and in good conditions to actually tell it's sex
For now though, yours is a female

Thank you sm for taking the time to reply! ❤️
Do you mind if i ask how you can tell if it’s male or female? How long will it take for her to mature if she’s in better conditions now? And if it’s not possible to say, how long does it normally take?

 

[Tom]

Thank you sm for taking the time to reply! ❤️
Do you mind if i ask how you can tell if it’s male or female? How long will it take for her to mature if she’s in better conditions now? And if it’s not possible to say, how long does it normally take?

In mature adults, males have concave plastrons, larger tails, and a wider open angle on the anal scutes. Females have smaller tails, no plastron concavity, and a less wide open angle on their anal scutes.

You can usually tell by around 3-4 years old, sometimes earlier.

No way to know what state your tortoise is in due to the previous conditions.

 

[wellington]

The tail and the scute at the tail is the sign. Males have a very large tail is the easiest way. If the scute is shaped according to the norm, one can tell with that too, but mostly if the tail coincidence with the scute shape.
Also makes, except Russians, have a concaved plastron but it's hard to tell that sometimes in a pic.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Just to give you a visual representation of what wellington and Tom are explaining🙂

 

[zolasmum]

Of course, if your tortoise is male, he may decide to indicate this to you very definitely, by "flashing", or by trying to mate with a rounded stone or other object ! Our Hermanns tortoise did this at 4 years old.
Angie