More sexual differences in Hingebacks

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Jacqui

Wanna be raiser of Lemon Drop tortoises
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I didn't want to take away from Terry's very nice Erosa sexual differences thread, but thought I would share a few more and include the Homes and Bells Hingebacks.

As Terry told you with the Erosa, the males are bigger (315 mm compared to 250 mm) and have longer gulars. On adult larger males the plastron is concave, but not in smaller males.

Now with the Homes (homeanna), it's the female who will grow larger with the females coming in around 220 mm and the males just 208 mm. The plastron is concave in males, but older females may also have concave plastrons. The male's carapace shape is usually more narrow then the female's (as shown in the picture below)
049-1.jpg


The Bell's Hingeback have both sexes the same size, but the female body is 2/3 wider then the male's. Males have concavity.
199-2.jpg

The females don't.
206-2.jpg


Of course there is one thing that all the Hingebacks have in common, the tail.;) Males have the longer thicker tail. It seems most often, when you pick up one to check their tail this is what you see...
022-1.jpg


I find that if I soak them just before checking, I can normally catch them with their shells more open. Another way, is to simply catch them as they are walking with their tails exposed.
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This is a male tail on a Bell's Hingeback.
198-2.jpg


Compared to a female tail, also on a Bell's.
204-2.jpg


Once more, a male's tail this one on a Homes.
008-3.jpg
 
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