I thought this would be of interest to many, and a surprise to most, though I know some of you have seen this before.
We often tell people they don'y know the sex of a tortoise for sure until it lays eggs or flashes you. The attached picture shows what many would consider 100% proof that this Radiated tortoise is a male (especially those seeing this for the first time), however SHE laid 11 eggs this year. You will notice her tail is very short and the genitalia is much, much smaller than a male's. But, at quick glance it would be reasonable to think this was a male.
So, females can flash their genitalia just like males do. I have only seen this 3 or 4 times, and only with this particular female. I checked in with @zovick and in his many years of doing this has only seen this on a few occasions. So, it's rare, but happens. I have not witnessed this with any other species I have worked with over the years, or any other Radiated tortoise.
Dan
We often tell people they don'y know the sex of a tortoise for sure until it lays eggs or flashes you. The attached picture shows what many would consider 100% proof that this Radiated tortoise is a male (especially those seeing this for the first time), however SHE laid 11 eggs this year. You will notice her tail is very short and the genitalia is much, much smaller than a male's. But, at quick glance it would be reasonable to think this was a male.
So, females can flash their genitalia just like males do. I have only seen this 3 or 4 times, and only with this particular female. I checked in with @zovick and in his many years of doing this has only seen this on a few occasions. So, it's rare, but happens. I have not witnessed this with any other species I have worked with over the years, or any other Radiated tortoise.
Dan