Rescued Sulcata - Help sexing?

[Oftel101]

Hi,

I just rescued this sulcata and was wondering if the forum could help me determine its sex.

Thanks!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Hi,

I just rescued this sulcata and was wondering if the forum could help me determine its sex.

Thanks!

The easiest way I’ve got for “texting” information to someone such as yourself to determine the sex of an adult or subadult sulcata is to look at the plastron, “belly shell” of the tortoise. And what’s best, it’s a very logical way to check.
Typically, a male will have a concave plastron whereas a female will have a flat plastron. The concave plastron of a male helps the male to breed the female. The female doesn’t require this because she’s , ehhm, on the bottom. Make sense? If not, say so and someone will come along with descriptions involving anal scute spacing, length and girth of the tail, as well as length of the anal opening.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

And by the way, you have offered a very fine photo of the underside of your sulcata.

 

[Oftel101]

I have been looking through the threads and I am still unsure on my tortoise which sex it is. The anal scutes seemed to be shaped more like a male, but I probably should try to get a better look/photo of the tail itself. The plastron has a little concave to it, but I am not sure it is as deep as a male's should be. Any ideas on what I can do to get a better idea?

 

[Bass.Isles]

Its tail is kind of hidden. Is it on the large size or the small size? And yeah, maybe if you could post a pic taken from off to the side so we can see if the plastron is concave at all?

 

[Maro2Bear]

I'm voting for male.

 

[Markw84]

Male

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh boy, I hate it when its a split decision. I'm going with female because the gular is small and the anal scutes are pointing straight back. On the males, the anal scutes point outward.

 

[chenwei]

100%MALE

 

[Oftel101]

A couple more photos to help make your decision. Hard to see, but I think the tail is pretty long and wrapped up in there, but I am not 100% sure because it wouldn’t let me ease it out of there. It looks pretty concaved to me. I am leaning male.

 

[Oftel101]

I got a good picture of his tail today while he was relieving himself. Thoughts? Looks Long to me, but I don’t really have much to compare to. Thanks for your help!

 

[teresaf]

Oh boy, I hate it when its a split decision. I'm going with female because the gular is small and the anal scutes are pointing straight back. On the males, the anal scutes point outward.

Sorry Yvonne, for once I'm disagreeing. Hahaha. The last couple pics are better for showing the plastron. IMHO definitely boy... : )