Is My Red Scarlett a boy ? ?

[kellysmith1976]

I was just walking past my tortoise room, the door was shut, and i heard the most strange noise!.. So I went in, and i cant describe the noise, But my 'female' Redfoot was on top of my male redfoot, Scarlett was head bobbing and making this strange noise... and i didnt see a penis but 'her' tail was wet (!) and 'she' was trying to push her tail up and into Bob, who is definately a male...
Sorry if im being confusing im in shock!..


Do females do this??.. Or have i totally misnamed her and she is definately a he!

 

[egyptiandan]

Females do do that Kelly

They do that for either dominance or because they are gravid.

Danny

 

[kellysmith1976]

I hope this link works, http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn171/kellysmith_2008/Tortoise/HPIM1255.jpg
I have only had her just over 6months, and i know she was kept with another red, before, but her shell is not in the best condition...
Are there any ways of knowing if shes Gravid?.. Is she big enough to breed?.. Shes 18cm SCL and weighs 1700g..

Is she a she or a he ? ?

 

[JustAnja]

Certainly looks like a female.

 

[Yvonne G]

You can GENTLY palpate the area just in front of her back legs to see if you feel any "marbles" in there.

Yvonne

 

[cdmay]

Scarlett is a gurl. And a naughty one at that.

 

[kellysmith1976]

So how do i know if she is Gravid or just being dominant.. Dont know why she felt it necessary to dominate over poor Bob, hes only little compared to her.. I did think it was quite interesting that she only chased the other cherryhead like her, not the other 2 normal reds!...
Do i need to put a special tray thing filled with soil?.. How deep does it need to be?.. Do you think she will lay is she big enough to lay ?

 

[cdmay]

I have never associated females mounting and clucking like a male with being gravid. Rather, I have found that females who are ready to be bred act in that manner. But it could very well be something gravid females also engage in if others have noticed it with their females that they knew were in fact full of eggs.
You could try and palpate for eggs but here again, I have never been able to tell a thing by doing that and all I ever accomplished was that I made the female really aggitated. In fact, I once made a concerted effort to palpate a female that was exhibiting nesting behavior and I felt nothing. The next day she laid 5 eggs. Maybe its just me...
Anyway for a nesting site you should provide an easily accessable place where she can dig down at least 7 inches or so. More would be better. Use a potting soil with no fertilizer added.

 

[Redfootedboxturtles]

She also has very long toe nails = ) Post more pics, Thats a cherry head right?

 

[Madkins007]

The shell has a very large gap between the rear of the plastron and carapace, and other signs combined with the nails look like it has had a rough life.

The wide angle of the two anal scutes usually signals a male, but the short tail suggests a female, an I think the tail is more accurate here.

Females show dominance in a variety of situations- stressed, crowded, senior to others, etc., including being ready to mate according to many observers.

Considering the design of the Red-foot shell, I would bet that it is harder to palpitate eggs in their shell than it is for a lot of other species with more exposed skin, but my guys are not breeding yet so I don't know.

 

[kellysmith1976]

Yes she has had a really hard life, I have had her for about 7months, And i got her through a rehoming, from an elderly gentlemen who had her and another redfoot, for about 2yrs, and apparantly he got them off someone who had them for 5yrs..
They were free roaming in his flat, with a rabbit!.. They were fed on rabbit food, with an occasional apple, they had no access to water, i dont know how they survived so long, the elderly man had mental health problems and was taken into a care home, which is why the staff noticed he had pets, I went to pick the both of them up, sadly when i got there, the elderly man had 'given' away the other tortoise and couldnt remember who to.. I was devastated that i couldnt get both out of a bad situation, but at least i could save one..
At first she didnt hve a clue what real food was, her first look at a mango was priceless!..
Heres another pic of her..