What kind of tortoise am I?

William Lee Kohler

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"If it wasn't just so hard to believe, I could think this a cross between a chaco and desert tortoise!?!?"

Or even Chaco/Gopher tortoise. Personally tend to agree with hybrid hypothesis. One thing for sure this is a female. Maybe she'll lay eggs and see how babies turn out?
 

William Lee Kohler

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Gopherus morafkai to my eye, and because of those eyes. Shell color and pattern can just be so variable in tortoises. Plus this one looks very clean and perhaps wet which might be throwing us off. There must be some distinct morphological features that differentiate Chaco tortoises as being members of the genus Chelonoidis that could easily eliminate this from being a Chaco. I just don’t happen to know those....

After doing some online research personally agree with this ID.
 

William Lee Kohler

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"If it wasn't just so hard to believe, I could think this a cross between a chaco and desert tortoise!?!?"

Or even Chaco/Gopher tortoise. Personally tend to agree with hybrid hypothesis. One thing for sure this is a female. Maybe she'll lay eggs and see how babies turn out?

I likely made an error with this ID but can't delete it. However diagnosis female and hope for offspring stands.
 

Tacomytort

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Wait.... female? Why do you say that? From what I discovered online this tortoise behaves like a male. When we first got it he would go around and start doing this head bobbing thing whenever he saw one of my dogs or even my son. Then he started “ramming” that piece under his neck as to try and flip something over in this case a piece of wood. He’d march right up to my son or my toy poodle and get right up
to them and bob it’s head. It’s my understanding that these are all traits of a male. Plus he has very long claws. Now I’m so confused.
 

Tacomytort

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Wait.... female? Why do you say that? From what I discovered online this tortoise behaves like a male. When we first got it he would go around and start doing this head bobbing thing whenever he saw one of my dogs or even my son. Then he started “ramming” that piece under his neck as to try and flip something over in this case a piece of wood. He’d march right up to my son or my toy poodle and get right up
to them and bob it’s head. It’s my understanding that these are all traits of a male. Plus he has very long claws. Now I’m so confused.
 

TechnoCheese

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Wait.... female? Why do you say that? From what I discovered online this tortoise behaves like a male. When we first got it he would go around and start doing this head bobbing thing whenever he saw one of my dogs or even my son. Then he started “ramming” that piece under his neck as to try and flip something over in this case a piece of wood. He’d march right up to my son or my toy poodle and get right up
to them and bob it’s head. It’s my understanding that these are all traits of a male. Plus he has very long claws. Now I’m so confused.

Can we get a picture of its tail and plastron?
 

Tacomytort

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So I just checked his plastron and it definitely concave at the end towards HIS tail. I’m not sure how much longer his tail should be but it drags a bit on the ground when he walks. Not a nub at all. I feel very confident he’s a HE.
 

DesertGirl

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Fabulous Las Vegas, NV
Wait.... female? Why do you say that? From what I discovered online this tortoise behaves like a male. When we first got it he would go around and start doing this head bobbing thing whenever he saw one of my dogs or even my son. Then he started “ramming” that piece under his neck as to try and flip something over in this case a piece of wood. He’d march right up to my son or my toy poodle and get right up
to them and bob it’s head. It’s my understanding that these are all traits of a male. Plus he has very long claws. Now I’m so confused.
 

DesertGirl

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Wait.... female? Why do you say that? From what I discovered online this tortoise behaves like a male. When we first got it he would go around and start doing this head bobbing thing whenever he saw one of my dogs or even my son. Then he started “ramming” that piece under his neck as to try and flip something over in this case a piece of wood. He’d march right up to my son or my toy poodle and get right up
to them and bob it’s head. It’s my understanding that these are all traits of a male. Plus he has very long claws. Now I’m so confused.
Oh, the females do that head bobbing thing too. Chasing and ramming to the point of flipping the victim.
 
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