You have a young male. The "reptile center" is ignorant, and also wrong. All of them look "female" as juveniles. The secondary sexual characteristics that make the sexes easy to identify don't show up until later on. Depending on many factors it can take Testudo species 8-10 years to reach maturity, and even longer to begin showing the distinctive male and female morphological traits.
Over the next couple of years, your male's tail will get larger and longer, the plastron concavity will begin to show up, and the anal scutes will begin to have more of a wide "V" style opening.
What you saw in the soak was a penis. And you'll likely see it again. When more of it sticks out, it looks kind of like a big purple mushroom. You'll see...
Over the next couple of years, your male's tail will get larger and longer, the plastron concavity will begin to show up, and the anal scutes will begin to have more of a wide "V" style opening.
What you saw in the soak was a penis. And you'll likely see it again. When more of it sticks out, it looks kind of like a big purple mushroom. You'll see...
