Vet deemed her a female, now I am confused! Peen? Vagine?

[WildExotics]

Hello! We took in this sulcata as a rescue, so the age is unknown. Perhaps around 3 years old, but she has always been small and slow growing. Recently, we took Alice to the vet for her yearly exam, and the vet deemed Alice a female. Well, today I was flashed with what I thought was a penis, but it does not go any farther in length than pictured. This seems to be the farthest her genitalia will go. Compared to our male sulcata’s genitalia, this looks a tad different. Thoughts? Male, female?

Alice had walked into water soluble finger paint seconds prior, hence the blue smears. When I flipped her over to clean off the mess, was when I was flashed. If that helps any. ‘She’ only seems to flash it when urinating.

 

[wellington]

That's how little vets know about tortoises. It is a male. Slow growers and hatchlings look female until they get closer to 3-5 years old
I would suggest finding a new vet that actually knows tortoises.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The good news is that now you know that you and the boy need to find another vet.
Welcome to the forum!

 

[mojo_1]

The good news Alice is a name that works for both sex 😉

 

[Yvonne G]

The anal scute configuration is female, and females sometimes DO flash, however, what I see in the picture is the tip of a penis. Maybe as the tortoise gets bigger the anal scute configuration will change to look male.