Clear male already?

[TumericTJ]

This is my first post! Loyalty is less than a year old but already looks to be a male based on anal scutes and tail. Any chance it's a female?

Note: It's a pardalis pardalis from LLL Reptile in Escondido.

 

[Yvonne G]

Way too young to tell. They really change a lot as they mature.

 

[wellington]

I agree, way too young. One of mine appears to be a female until he was around 5 years.

 

[TumericTJ]

Thank you for the input. I had read that sometimes males look like females but rarely the reverse.

A male will weigh like 15lb and a female 20lb, right? I'm raising in Ventura County.

How much should I feed it--just keep giving it food until it stops eating?

Let me know if I should move these questions to a different thread.

 

[Kasia]

Hi
Females tend to grow bigger then male but time will tell... and they can grow bigger then 10kg.
Food wise you give him plenty and leave it all the time. He eats when he/she likes. When he's done you put more or you put enough in the morning to support him for the whole day. That's how you go until he is big enough to stay outside full time and is grazing on his own.

 

[Tom]

Thank you for the input. I had read that sometimes males look like females but rarely the reverse.

A male will weigh like 15lb and a female 20lb, right? I'm raising in Ventura County.

How much should I feed it--just keep giving it food until it stops eating?

Let me know if I should move these questions to a different thread.

If its truly a pp, the males can get 60-70 pounds and the females 40-50ish. Males get bigger in the SA variety.

Yours is definitely too young to sex, but may we see the carapace?

Here is the care info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

The title says "sulcata", but I feed SA leopards identically:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

Hi

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Neal]

It will be clear when the tortoise is about 8 inches long or so, which correlates to about 2 years of growth, give or take.

Adult sizes and weight will vary a lot with this species, but I agree with Tom's estimated adult weights for a South African Leopard. 15 and 20 lbs for an adult male or female, respectively, more closely relates to the normal type of leopards. Even then, those estimates are a bit light.

 

[Ramsey]

Hello.

I'm shopping at LLL in San Diego on a weekly basis for food/supplies for our various reptilians. They are very friendly people and have excellent prices on materials.

However, I would strongly recommend you read and follow the guidelines in the links posted above.

The staff's hearts at LLL are in the right places. However from my discussions with them, their care recommendations don't usually line up with what this forum's generally accepted guidelines are.

Nice choice btw, I have some PP torts myself.

 

[TumericTJ]

If its truly a pp, the males can get 60-70 pounds and the females 40-50ish. Males get bigger in the SA variety.

Yours is definitely too young to sex, but may we see the carapace?

Here is the care info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

The title says "sulcata", but I feed SA leopards identically:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Thank you for the insights. I will incorporate as much as possible. Here is the carapace.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi, @TumericTJ and a very warm welcome to the forum!

I agree with the experienced members who said that it's far too early to tell whether your tort is a male or a female.

Whether a male or a female, he/she is gorgeous! GOD bless.

 

[Tom]

Thank you for the insights. I will incorporate as much as possible. Here is the carapace.

Looks like the genuine article to me!