Question about female tortoise.

[tylrhadn111]

This is going to seem like a strange or silly question but I couldn't find a definitive answer on Google so, i have had a couple people tell my that my Hermanns is a female but every once in a while, while she pees or I'm petting her shell, she'll push this pink thing out of her Cloaca. Now, my question is do female tortoises have a pink thing that they can push out of their tail or do I have a boy tortoises and he is trying to show off his penis? This is a serious question that could really help me decipher the sex of my tortoise. Thank you for your help.

 

[Tom]

Could be either.

Sex is more easily determined by other characteristics like tail size, cloacal position on the tail, anal scute shape, plastron concavity (in some species), gular scute size and shape (some species), and even head shape and size or behavior to some degree. There are many clues that someone experienced with that species would use to tell the sex of an adult. That is why it can sometimes be difficult to do just from a picture or two. The younger the animal, the less pronounced the secondary sexual characteristics tend to be, so the more difficult it can be to sex them.

If you post a plastron pic showing the anal scutes and tail, we can give it our best guesses.

 

[tylrhadn111]

This is the best picture I have.

 

[Yvonne G]

Because the cloaca is a star shape and not a slit, I'm thinking it is female. Sometimes the female does a mini prolapse like that if she's having to strain to poop or is she has worms. Take a stool sample to the vet and have them check for parasites.

 

[diamondbp]

That's a tough one for me. :/ sorry I wish I was more help

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The age of the tortoise might help us out?

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Looks female to me as well.

 

[tylrhadn111]

I don't know her age. The person I recieved her from knew nothing about her at all so, you're guess is as good as mine with that.

I thought she was a female too but the only thing that makes me think otherwise is this pink fleshy thing that's flared at the end comes out of her Cloaca on occasion. It appears to be my tortoises penis but Im not sure. It doesnt look like something that shouldnt be there so, im not worried about that but I do want to know what is that I'm looking at.