Spring Onion

[dawny690]

Hope its not a boy lol as was sold it as a girl, just wanted to confirm weather it was or not also might develop a complex with its name as murtle lol. Never mind cant be bothered to change its name so if it is a boy it will have to develop a complex lol. Thanks for your help. Dawn

[Eire_Ade]

The tail shaped like a purse said female to me Dan, but the anul scutes said male. He/ she or She /he!!!!!!! Thought it would be less likely that the anul scutes would change much in there shape and position than that of the tail.

Only my thoughts on the subject. But I am by no means an expert. Or as experienced as many other on here are.

Ade

[Becks]

going by anal scutes i still say young male ..
but could be 100% others may come along and give u there quess ..
sorry i cant help no more the torts is still very young to sex ..
tail s small like a female but anal scutes are wide like a males ..
humm will be intrested myself to see what others think ..
could go either way i think luv becks xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[dawny690]

Its just under 4 inches I know they only grow to 8 inches or is this wrong too? Also to confirm how many years do these variety live? As was told about 100 yrs. Thanks Dawn

[Eire_Ade]

Dawn I wouldn't worry about the name, Dug was supposed to be a male but is definately female and her name suits cos she digs a lot.

Many others here have the same problem, he shees and she hees. They are all gorgious tortoises who cares whether their names are girly or boyish. Cos I dont care myself, once youve named an animal its had to change it.

Ade

[dawny690]

Just one thing it may not be as big as it should be as the woman I got it off was feeding it on that t-rex tortoise pellet diet which it is now off and on veg and weeds.

[Eire_Ade]

Dawn your tortoise should live into his or her 100's this is the right life expectancy for these tortoises, whereas if he / she was fed those pellets for the rest of thier life then this would have been a much shorter life of aroung 40 to 50 years at best. Good for you rescuing this little tortoise.

Try not to feed veg as this is not good for them, the occasional Rommaine or Little Gem lettuce is ok if you are stuck but weeds and flowers are best.

No matter what the sex, you will have many, many years of enjoyment out of it. They are fabulous animals.

Just keep up the good work, plenty of weeds and garden time and aim for nice slow steady growth and you will have a happy, healthy tortoise for many years to come.

And last but not least he/ she is lovely.

Ade

[egyptiandan64]

Dawn,
Females do get 6 to 8 inches, with males being smaller usually 4 to 6 inches. She's probably a little big for her age if she was being fed pellets. Glad you have her on a good diet now She quite possibly could live to 100 years old.

Dan

[dawny690]

The thing that has upset me the most is the woman I got her off overcharged me for the tort in the first place and never told me half the information that i have already been told on here, so im glad another woman who also has a tort told me about this site. Dawn

[Eire_Ade]

Unfortunaetly Dawn there are a lot of people in this cruel world just out to line their pockets, we are glad you found us and that you know have the right information you need and we are always here to support you with advice and answer any other questions you have.

All you can do spread the word, not to go to this woman if you want a tortoise but to use sites like this one to research first and obtain information on reputable UK captive breeders which there are plenty of in the UK.

There is really no need for any pet shops to be selling these poor animals as there are enough breeders in the UK without the petshops and for petshops to sell them without the correct care and advice is simply barbarick.

Ade