Sexing Florence.

[emma_mcraf]

Originally Posted by Wyannis

Oh dear, looks like there is no hope that she might still be a Florence.

Aww....I felt disappointed when I discovered two of my hatchlings I'd thought were female were males, but I loved them so much that I knew there would be no chance I'd ever let them go and so got on and chose new names for them. Now I don't think of them as ever having been considered female.
You will get used to having a little boy.
All of my males have completely different personalities. People think I'm bonkers when I say that, but they really do.
It's still the same tort, just a little boy one instead. x

[Wyannis]

I will get used to having a little boy tort. I have suspected for a wee while that Florence might be male as she has a mischievous personality and keeps me on my toes. She has taken to climbing the spider plant lately and I had to laugh when I found a poo right on the very top of it. I knew exactly who had been there!

I may have to go through all this again with Gertie in a couple of months time. She is much smaller than Florence though they are roughly the same age. Maybe I should put up a picture of her too, then I can change their names together if need be.

[emma_mcraf]

I had to chuckle at the poo on the top of the spider plant!!
Pop a photo of Gertie up and we can all have a look and see what we think.

[egyptiandan64]

Things all depend on if the size is correct. If 10.2cm is correct it's a female and quite a bit under weight. If it's closer to 8cm it's a male and the weight isn't bad.

Danny

[emma_mcraf]

Originally Posted by egyptiandan64

Things all depend on if the size is correct. If 10.2cm is correct it's a female and quite a bit under weight. If it's closer to 8cm it's a male and the weight isn't bad.

Danny

There you go - don't go changing her name yet!

[Wyannis]

The size is correct but I am horrified to think she is under weight. I have been trying to slow down her weight gain because she grows so very very fast. I thought she was far too big for her age.

Danny what weight should she be for that size? I'm worried now.

[egyptiandan64]

She should be around 235g for that size.

Danny

[Wyannis]

Danny are you sure that is correct? She is less that two years old and a herc if that makes any difference? She has put on weight every month since I have had her and it has varied between 2g and a whopping 11g in a month but is usually about 5-7g. I thought 2-3g was normal and that I was letting her grow far too fast.

I know you are the expert but I am really confused now.

[egyptiandan64]

The silly 2 to 3 gram thing only works when they are hatchling. As a tortoise gets larger each mm of growth will weight more. 1 to 2 grams per mm as hatchling and 100g per mm for an almost adult Testudo female. So as I've always said you should never just weight against a time period but by the length of your tortoise. So no diets ever for a growing tortoise, as a growing tortoise can never gain too much weight.

Danny

[Lorna]

I had a sweet rescue tortoise I thought was a female. She wasn't the prettiest so I thought she needed a pretty name, so I renamed her Cherry. Then she turned into a male! He has now been renamed and rehomed, and is called Toby.