Number of spurs on thighs

[Shawn and Dianne]

I was looking carefully at our yearling "Io" and noticed that she had 3 spurs on one leg (one slightly smaller), and two on the other. I read a couple of places that they usually have 2.
Does anyone else have a sulcata with more or less spurs?
I assume that it can't hurt anything, I was just curious.

Since the picture is posted, I might as well all the experts, my vet sexed Io as female, any other input?

Dianne and Shawn

 

[Lil' Tortie]

I'm not an expert but looks like a female to me. My temp sexed female sulcatas' anal scutes shape the same way and close together like yours. One of them have irregular spur like yours(2,3), and another one have only one spur on each thigh.

I was looking carefully at our yearling "Io" and noticed that she had 3 spurs on one leg (one slightly smaller), and two on the other. I read a couple of places that they usually have 2.
Does anyone else have a sulcata with more or less spurs?
I assume that it can't hurt anything, I was just curious.

Since the picture is posted, I might as well all the experts, my vet sexed Io as female, any other input?

Dianne and Shawn

 

[drgnfly2265]

Thank you so much for posting this issue!!! I have the same thing going on with my sulcata!!!

I have been calling the spikes on it's rear it's "butt spikes". When I first got it, it had two on each side. I thought that it was so funny that they had spikes there so that is how I noticed what happened. Then a couple of months later I noticed that it has 2 on one side and 1 on the other. I was wondering what happened to that spike! I was wondering if it was like teeth, do they lose them then grow them back???

Well it is still the same, 2 on one side and 1 on the other. Poor thing, it is probably wondering why I keep looking at it's butt (other than trying to see if I can tell if it's a male or female, I'm so impatent).

Does anyone know what is going on with the "butt spikes"???

____________________________________________________

1 Sulcata (Bowser)

www.myspace.com/bowsertortoise

 

[bink90]

yea.....its a baby girl....because of the narrowness of the anal scues and because of the short stubby tail...whats her name?

 

[Crazy1]

Sulcatas are often called African Spur Thigh Tortoises. Why because they have spurs not "butt spikes" (although I kinda like that term.) on there thighs.
http://www.sdturtle.org/AFRICAN SPURRED TORTOISE CARE SHEET.htm
excerpt: Sulcatas are characterized by the two or three large, prominent spurs or tubercles found on their thighs.
So one, two or three all seem to be normal.

 

[drgnfly2265]

Sulcatas are often called African Spur Thigh Tortoises. Why because they have spurs not "butt spikes" (although I kinda like that term.) on there thighs.
http://www.sdturtle.org/AFRICAN SPURRED TORTOISE CARE SHEET.htm
excerpt: Sulcatas are characterized by the two or three large, prominent spurs or tubercles found on their thighs.
So one, two or three all seem to be normal.

Neato, Thank you One less thing to worry about.

________________________________________________________

Jamie

1 Sulcata (Bowser)

www.myspace.com/bowsertortoise

 

[glendab63]

Sulcatas are often called African Spur Thigh Tortoises. Why because they have spurs not "butt spikes" (although I kinda like that term.) on there thighs.
http://www.sdturtle.org/AFRICAN SPURRED TORTOISE CARE SHEET.htm
excerpt: Sulcatas are characterized by the two or three large, prominent spurs or tubercles found on their thighs.
So one, two or three all seem to be normal.

I needed a laugh today Spurs NOT BUTT SPIKES I like BUTT SPIKES too

 

[krissy2288]

mine has 4 on each but the 1 on each is really small

 

[egyptiandan]

Io looks like a male to me.

The spurs on a C.sulcata are very variable in number.

Robin C.sulcata are known as Spurred tortoises or African spurred tortoises. Spur-thighed tortoises are Greek tortoises, Testudo graeca.
Too many people in the trade right now are calling C.sulcata Spur thigh tortoises, which isn't the right common name for them.

Danny

 

[ruanda]

Mine have 2,3 and 3,3 .

 

[Nobody]

I was looking carefully at our yearling "Io" and noticed that she had 3 spurs on one leg (one slightly smaller), and two on the other. I read a couple of places that they usually have 2.
Does anyone else have a sulcata with more or less spurs?
I assume that it can't hurt anything, I was just curious.

Since the picture is posted, I might as well all the experts, my vet sexed Io as female, any other input?

Dianne and Shawn

How old and how big is he/she in that photo?
Thanks.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Nobody:

Shawn and Dianne haven't visited the forum in over a year. I doubt you'll be receiving an answer to your question. It looks like the tortoise in the picture is being held in one hand of the photographer, so I'd say the tortoise isn't too big. Also, in the first post, she refers to the tortoise as, "...my YEARLING..."