Size to reliably sex leopards?

paper_boy

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I have been keeping mainly indian stars for the past decade. But recently, i got a deal with a couple of leopards that was irresistible. I have two, one 8” and one 6.5”.

wishing for a pair but it looks like i got two females. Can you guys confirm?

F8203968-0E46-4EBB-A67E-3A3FB585DB3D.jpeg 31CF1715-D43C-4AA1-ACA5-8828090320CB.jpeg
 

wellington

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The first one looks female.
The second one could possibly be male.
Is there any concaving in the bottom shell?
2 females would be better then a pair. Males are easier to come by. If you have two females you could add a Male and have a nice little group that should be able to live nicely together in the proper sized enclosure.
 

Lyn W

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This may help..............
imageuploadedbytortoise-forum1465149882-360772-jpg.176404
 

paper_boy

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The first one looks female.
The second one could possibly be male.
Is there any concaving in the bottom shell?
2 females would be better then a pair. Males are easier to come by. If you have two females you could add a Male and have a nice little group that should be able to live nicely together in the proper sized enclosure.

there is a very very slight dip. Here are some pictures.
 

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wellington

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there is a very very slight dip. Here are some pictures.
The one that I said could possibly be Male. I cant see the end of the tail. If it's as short as the other ones tail then you have 2 females.
That little bit of concaving should be a lot more if it is a Male. However, if it had a bad first few years of improper care, the concaving could be slow to show up. I rescued a Male leopard that had a bad start for 5 years. It couldn't walk, was too small and no concaving. It was raised in a small aquarium. After I got him he grew, would walk and finally started to show his sex. The concaving though is there but no where near what it should be or what my other males is like.
 

Ghazan

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what's the significance of the anal plastron scute, I can never remember which is which

Handle bar mustache [ is more female and V is more male?
 

Yvonne G

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You asked what size can you reliably tell the sex. Leonard is only a little over a year of age, about 4" SCL, and you can now tell by his tail he's definitely male:

leonard 1-10-20.jpg

I don't really think you can go by hard fast rules. Each tortoise is different.
 

paper_boy

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The one that I said could possibly be Male. I cant see the end of the tail. If it's as short as the other ones tail then you have 2 females.
That little bit of concaving should be a lot more if it is a Male. However, if it had a bad first few years of improper care, the concaving could be slow to show up. I rescued a Male leopard that had a bad start for 5 years. It couldn't walk, was too small and no concaving. It was raised in a small aquarium. After I got him he grew, would walk and finally started to show his sex. The concaving though is there but no where near what it should be or what my other males is like.

this is the smaller one.
 

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Lyn W

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This hatchling looks like its a male, with its very long tail
When I first had my tort who was already quite large almost 6 years ago, I took it to a vet with an interest in tortoises for a health check,
He examined the tail and plastron and said my leopard was about 10 years old and a female.
A couple of months later Lola showed me that that she was actually a he!

The image is only a guide - no way of reliably knowing when they are hatchlings.
 

paper_boy

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N
When I first had my tort who was already quite large almost 6 years ago, I took it to a vet with an interest in tortoises for a health check,
He examined the tail and plastron and said my leopard was about 10 years old and a female.
A couple of months later Lola showed me that that she was actually a he!

The image is only a guide - no way of reliably knowing when they are hatchlings.
no way? That must have been a shocker haha.
 

Ghazan

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Any guess on these two Leopards?

They are 9-10 inches, > 5 lbs and will turn 3 years old in 5/2020
 

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gedong

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Any guess on these two Leopards?

They are 9-10 inches, > 5 lbs and will turn 3 years old in 5/2020
Congratulation you've got two females, please share again in the future should it turns out to be male :D
 

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