Male or Female- Sexing your Tortoise.
Sexing your tortoise can be difficult without another tortoise of the opposite sex to compare to. Below are reference photos of different species. This page is only partially completed and will be added to over time.
Hermanns:
|
|
Left: Male Hermanns. Right: Female Hermanns
The main difference between the two is tail size. Males have much bigger tails, usually tucked to one side, whilst females have shorter tails, usually carried in the centre. The 2nd indiator of sex is the anal scutes. These are situated on the plastron, just above the tail. Male's anal scutes, typically form a wide 'U' shape, whilst female's anal scutes form a 'V' shape.