Male or female Sulcata. Any help welcome!

Divadanca

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Hello all. Am new to the forum, but am looking for some more educated opinions on my mother's Sulcata.

'Sheldon' was purchased as a hatchling and my mother has had Sheldon ever since, and is now coming up for 12 years old.

21" in length

We have never seen any eggs produced, however the physical appearance is now indicating to me that Sheldon could in fact be female?

Welcoming any thoughts. (Was hard to get a tail pic, as kept curling it underneath, although didn't appear overly long)

*Please forgive the red mouth.... has been raiding the strawberries!*

Based in UK



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Warren

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I also say Famale, I see a flat plastron, male's plastron would be concave. I see a short tail, males have longer tails.
 

Tom

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Female, and strawberries are bad for them. Fruit is too sugary and it wreaks havoc on their intestinal flora and fauna. You will now say: "But we only give small amounts once in a while as a treat..." And I will now answer: "If it is so bad that you can only offer small amounts infrequently, why offer it at all?" Instead I recommend offering treats that are good for them, like spineless opuntia pads, squash leaves or blooms, hibiscus flowers, a little cucumber or lettuce now and then...
 

Divadanca

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Thank you @Tom for your response. I appreciate your validation on the sex of the tortoise, however I in no way expected a response with a presumed argument and my take on what I would say about feeding strawberries. Nowhere did my post say that I have been deliberately feeding them to the tortoise, but I appreciate your concern.
 

TaylorTortoise

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Female, and strawberries are bad for them. Fruit is too sugary and it wreaks havoc on their intestinal flora and fauna. You will now say: "But we only give small amounts once in a while as a treat..." And I will now answer: "If it is so bad that you can only offer small amounts infrequently, why offer it at all?" Instead I recommend offering treats that are good for them, like spineless opuntia pads, squash leaves or blooms, hibiscus flowers, a little cucumber or lettuce now and then...
tOm what is a flora and fauna?
 

TaraMaiden

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Thank you @Tom for your response. I appreciate your validation on the sex of the tortoise, however I in no way expected a response with a presumed argument and my take on what I would say about feeding strawberries. Nowhere did my post say that I have been deliberately feeding them to the tortoise, but I appreciate your concern.
Boy people are a bit jumpy at the moment! Must be the heat! I don't Think Tom was implying a fault; Tortoises released in a garden will sometimes make a bee-line for things that aren't good for them, simply because they taste good. Rather like my husband and raspberry doughnuts (He's diabetic type II...!) My tortoise is only 3 years old, and I've had to clear some weeds from my lawn which would be distinctly bad for him/her if eaten... lawn daisies for one. Still unclear whether my tort would eat it anyway... I mean, can they immediately tell what's not good for them? Judging by your handsome Fella/maiden, maybe not! So perhaps showing caution about what they can or can't reach is a step in the right direction...
I'm in the UK too. Hasn't it been Glorious, weather-wise. lately?

ETA: Hmmm.. re-checking Tom's reply, I can see why you took umbrage.
I can understand your feeling defensive... I will just say in his defence, that we have seen many posts by people feeding their tortoises the wrong foods because "well, they love it!" and sometimes, the assumption creeps in.
Don't hold it against him. He really is an incredibly deep mine of information, and has seen much that has come and gone... XX
 

Markw84

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ETA: Hmmm.. re-checking Tom's reply, I can see why you took umbrage.
I can understand your feeling defensive... I will just say in his defence, that we have seen many posts by people feeding their tortoises the wrong foods because "well, they love it!" and sometimes, the assumption creeps in.
Don't hold it against him. He really is an incredibly deep mine of information, and has seen much that has come and gone... XX
It may have something to do with the red stains on the tortoise's face!!!
 

Tom

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Yes, hence why I had stated the strawberries had been raided. 😃
I apologize if I offended you. This conversation has been had 1000 times before, and what I typed is usually how it goes. Better to be told something you already know, like fruit isn't good for your tortoise, than to not be told and continue making a harmful mistake if you didn't already know, isn't it? Personally, I would want someone to tell me if they saw something amiss in a post of mine. This has been done many times over the years, and my response is to thank the person, as you did.
 
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Donna Albu

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Does Sheldon (maybe should be Shelly" have a mate? That might explain the lack of eggs. If she did lay eggs, they would be buried, and they do a great job of covering up the nest so it looks like it never happened. Non-fertilized eggs would never hatch, so it looks like everything is normal.
 

TammyJ

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I wish names would stop being sexist.
 

Divadanca

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Does Sheldon (maybe should be Shelly" have a mate? That might explain the lack of eggs. If she did lay eggs, they would be buried, and they do a great job of covering up the nest so it looks like it never happened. Non-fertilized eggs would never hatch, so it looks like everything is normal.
Yes I think it seems Shelly might be on the cards now 😆
 

TaraMaiden

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What is Sexest? If the Tortoise is in fact female, then Shelly seems like a good idea.

Won't be long before people will be identifying as Bananas before long as not to offend 🙄
I actually know two women, one named Michael, and the other named Julian... and just to be clear, they do both identify as women...
 

TammyJ

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What is Sexest? If the Tortoise is in fact female, then Shelly seems like a good idea.

Won't be long before people will be identifying as Bananas before long as not to offend 🙄
Why bananas? Why not apples? Lol!
 
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