Sexing Radiated Tortoises

When it comes to sexing Radiated tortoises, options are limited in young animals. Temp sexing while more accurate in other species of tortoises, is not a sure thing when it comes to the Radiated tortoise. Visual sexing of this species has proven to be very inaccurate under 11", leaving only one option for a guaranteed sex determination. Endoscope, the procedure is minimally invasive and accomplished by a trained vet with knowledge of this species sex organ. The procedure is done under anesthesia, with a small incision above the back leg between the plastron anal scute and the marginal scutes. Below are photos of young radiated tortoises under going the procedure, showing the difference between male and female.

Males:

 

 

 

 

Females:

When it comes to older animals, sexing visually can be done with some accuracy, depending on the size of the tortoise. While these are to be true in most cases, there are exceptions to the rules. Males of 11" plus will typically have a longer tail, and a ridge creating a bump at the end of the anal scute. The plastron typically will still be flat and may start to concave with more growth. Males of this size will often show intrest in females and flash the goods when soaking or showing breeding behavior like circling females and or pushing them around. At this size males typically will not battel other males as seen durrung breeding season with adult males of 13" or larger. Females will typically have short tails with larger anal scute openings without the ridge or bump at the end of the anal scute.