Sexing by toe nails?

[Madortoise]

Hi there,

I was told that you can sex tortoise before s/he reaches a certain size (20 cm or 8") by the lengths of his/her hind toe nails. Long hind toe-nails are reportedly the indication for female. This is new info to me and my hubby. We are excited. What do you all think? We can't tell if Penelope's are long or short b/c we have no reference to what is normal lengths/short or long. Is she(approx 3-1/2+yrs old, approx 6" Calif D.T.) really a girl or not? Either way, we'll love the tort. You tell me... Hopeful Mado

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BTW
here's more photogenic pix of Penelope as she was resisting to get her feet off the floor earlier by mommy and daddy...poor thing.

 

[tortoisenerd]

I would find this very surprising because nails wear down naturally depending on many factors. Cute! Best wishes.

 

[egyptiandan]

Just not possible with a tortoise thats not mature. Even then I wouldn't rely on it solely. Also long nails are a secondary sex characteristic, which means it won't show up till a tortoise is mature.
Your best bet for sexing an immature tortoise is the shape of the plastron near the tail.

Danny

 

[tortoisenerd]

Thanks for the explanation Danny! Which sex has the longer nails by the way?

The other day my tort wore down his nails really well by trying to climb an enclosure wall while standing on slate. You could see all the nail marks on the tile!

 

[egyptiandan]

Females have slightly longer rear nails to help them with digging a nest.

Danny

 

[tortoisenerd]

That's what I would have thought. Cool!

 

[Madortoise]

Very cool. I suppose I'll have to wait and see; Penelope's plastron is still pretty flat as you might imagine. Thanks, Danny.

 

[Stazz]

Aw Mado Penelope is really cute !!!

 

[Isa]

Penelope is a real cutie and she has such nice little legs (2 last pics )

 

[Madortoise]

Penelope is a real cutie and she has such nice little legs (2 last pics )

Takes after her mommy. LOL~

 

[chelonologist]

If I saw a wild desert tortoise of this size in the field, I would call it (preliminarily) a male - those nails are very stubby. It's been my experience that tortoises at about this size start to develop longer nails on the rear feet if they're females. There's not been anything published on this (to my knowledge), but I suspect that it's the one of the first sexual characters to develop in desert tortoises.

 

[Madortoise]

If I saw a wild desert tortoise of this size in the field, I would call it (preliminarily) a male - those nails are very stubby. It's been my experience that tortoises at about this size start to develop longer nails on the rear feet if they're females. There's not been anything published on this (to my knowledge), but I suspect that it's the one of the first sexual characters to develop in desert tortoises.

Very interesting! Thank you for your feedback, Michael the mad tort scientist!
I'd love for someone to publish some scientific articles on this ...perhaps after you're done w/your current dissertation!
I'll hold off on confusing Penelope by renaming her again until we are certain it's a boy.

 

[Candy]

Mado how old is Penelope?

 

[Madortoise]

Mado how old is Penelope?

min. 3-1/2 probably more close to 4.

 

[Candy]

Mado how old is Penelope?

min. 3-1/2 probably more close to 4.

How old do they say he/she has to be before they're able to tell the sex? Have you tried to post pics of the plastron to see if anyone could tell you if Pelelope is a boy or a girl?

 

[Madortoise]

Mado how old is Penelope?

min. 3-1/2 probably more close to 4.

How old do they say he/she has to be before they're able to tell the sex? Have you tried to post pics of the plastron to see if anyone could tell you if Pelelope is a boy or a girl?

Hi Candy,
Her plastron is still very flat. She is only about 15 cm max whereas I heard that the tortoises reach sexual maturity at about 20 cm. I got anxious and excited to know sooner and that is why I was asking if anyone could tell by toe-nails.
After I posted this, my husband disclosed that he actually trimmed one of her rear toe nails (he thinks it was the left one) b/c it was curling in. That gives us a hope that we could keep her name as Penelope! I'll keep you all posted. It was interesting info though, wasn't it, that there is gender difference w/toe nails?