SnelgroveLady
New Member
Help!! Female or Male?
- Thread starter SnelgroveLady
- Start date
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- gender red food tortoise
Grace-Sophia
Well-Known Member
How old is she/he?
Mabey we can get @Tom to help out!
Mabey we can get @Tom to help out!
Grace-Sophia
Well-Known Member
But it looks like a male to me, not for sure, I am no expert!
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- Mar 19, 2009
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How about mine? Jusy got it last week.. About 5 or 6 years old.
Grace-Sophia
Well-Known Member
Looks like a male too 
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- Mar 19, 2009
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I thought so too, based just on the shape (U vs V), but the tail is so short and there is no concave shell underneath - so kinda confused. At 6 years old, I figured those things would be more obvious?Looks like a male too
Grace-Sophia
Well-Known Member
That’s true...
Let’s see if an expert jumps on the thread shortly...
@Yvonne G could probably help with this one... I’ll invite her.
Let’s see if an expert jumps on the thread shortly...
@Yvonne G could probably help with this one... I’ll invite her.
@ZEROPILOT knows RF tortoises better than I do. Sorry.
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- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Not always.
I have an 8 year old that is a confirmed female but looks male. With a concave plastron and hourglass shaped sides.
I've given up guessing about the sex of immature RF long ago.
An immature male looks just like a female and some sub adult females look male.
Female
Female Imo
This is my male for comparison
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At what age is he/she no longer sub-adult? And then what is the best way to know the gender?
- Joined
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- Location (City and/or State)
- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
I think they vary when it comes to sexual maturity. But at about 6 years. Give or take.
@Toddrickfl1 has a beautiful male there that is positively a male. Yet still pretty small.
Sometimes you'll get lucky and find out sooner than later.
This is a photo of my oldest RF.
A boy.....Up until the day she layed eggs.
She is so dished you could use her for a bowl.
Males have long. Fat tails. A V shaped vent. (But not always) a concave plastron and "hourglass" sides.
They are also more aggressive when they become mature.
Most females remain mellow.
I'm been pretty consistent about guessing sexes wrong. And I've re homed a few tortoises to other members that ended up being the wrong sex.
They just all look female for years and then it happens so fast.
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Male or female the most popular question on the forum by far, I guess most keepers of torts are under 5-6 years including mine. I tried to observe, analyses & mostly guess what they are, but there's no way to be certain.
