How old do tortoise need to be to sex accurately??

donbv3

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uploadfromtaptalk1434830497785.jpg

I have been looking at getting a tortoise for a month or so and am currently building my own table, I have been given an unwanted tortoise from a friend who thinks she is about 2 years old. They were told she is a girl n i think she is from pics but wasn't sure how long they take to mature. Thanks uploadfromtaptalk1434830752975.jpg
 

Carol S

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Looks like a female to me. She is very pretty. Enjoy your new tortoise. :)
 

JoesMum

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Age is not helpfup when sexing, size for the species is... what species is your tort? Could you give us a photo of the whole plastron with the tail please?
 

Tom

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Sometimes you can tell at 2 years old, sometimes not until 8 or 10. Most of them look female until they start nearing maturity. Maturity is based more on size than age, and they all grow at different rates depending on many factors. When your tortoise is big enough, you will be able to tell the sex. There is no way to know how long that will take.
 

donbv3

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She? Is a horsfield. Unfortunately that's the only pictures I have at the moment as I am still building my own table. You can see a good 2/3 of the length of her shell on that sideways picture, at a guess i would say she is about 5 inches in length on her underneath. She is currently living in an open top table but i have cats and dogs so don't want to risk any accidents, bringing her to my house in that. I'd rather hole off until I have somewhere safe for her to live fingers crossed in the next few weeks :)
 

Yvonne G

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If she's 5" from front to back in a straight line, then she's female.
 
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