Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys

I hope you can help me out here. I need to know weather this 6.75" cherryhead redfoot is a male or female and I am stumped. I was told it was a female, but I am not sure.

All opinions are welcomed!!

Thank you!

-----
Kelly Wood

1.1 Cherry Head Redfoots
0.1.1 Brazillian Redfoots
1.1 Leopard tortoises
1.3 bloodred Bearded Dragons
0.1 collared lizard
0.3 Dogs
1.3 Parakeets

Hi Kelly
The redfoot is a male. He does look great though.

n/m

I would say it is probably a male but you really can't be sure at that size. That particular form of RF is notorious for having females with relatively long tails or a shell structure representitive of a male. If it is a male it should start developing the concave shell generally around 8 to 9 inches scl. Then you can be certain if it is a male or not.

Can you post another picture with the tail straight out so you can see the thickness of the tail? A female will usually have a thicker base in relation to the length.

>>Hey guys
>>
>>I hope you can help me out here. I need to know weather this 6.75" cherryhead redfoot is a male or female and I am stumped. I was told it was a female, but I am not sure.
>>
>>All opinions are welcomed!!
>>
>>Thank you!
>>
>>
>>-----
>> Kelly Wood
>>
>>1.1 Cherry Head Redfoots
>>0.1.1 Brazillian Redfoots
>>1.1 Leopard tortoises
>>1.3 bloodred Bearded Dragons
>>0.1 collared lizard
>>0.3 Dogs
>>1.3 Parakeets
-----
Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

I asked the person that I am dealing with to send more tail photos, so I should have some more by tonight. He was trading me a pair of cherry's but now I think it might be 2 males.

Thanks again for everyone's help. I will try to post more photos tonight or this weekend.

>>Can you post another picture with the tail straight out so you can see the thickness of the tail? A female will usually have a thicker base in relation to the length.
-----
Kelly Wood

1.1 Cherry Head Redfoots
0.1.1 Brazillian Redfoots
1.1 Leopard tortoises
1.3 bloodred Bearded Dragons
0.1 collared lizard
0.3 Dogs
1.3 Parakeets

At that size it is a gamble all around.

The easiest way to tell at that size is to get a photo of them side by side and compare which should be clear if they are the same size.

It is a nice looking animal but unless it is a fantastic deal you might want to really consider all options because if you have 2 males you are going to pay through the nose for a female although the males are easier to sell if you are lucky enough to get a couple with good color. The males are usually the nicer in color.

Also if you don't get a pair from the same source it can be very difficult a matching type from a different source.

>>I asked the person that I am dealing with to send more tail photos, so I should have some more by tonight. He was trading me a pair of cherry's but now I think it might be 2 males.
>>
>>Thanks again for everyone's help. I will try to post more photos tonight or this weekend.
>>
>>
>>>>Can you post another picture with the tail straight out so you can see the thickness of the tail? A female will usually have a thicker base in relation to the length.
>>-----
>> Kelly Wood
>>
>>1.1 Cherry Head Redfoots
>>0.1.1 Brazillian Redfoots
>>1.1 Leopard tortoises
>>1.3 bloodred Bearded Dragons
>>0.1 collared lizard
>>0.3 Dogs
>>1.3 Parakeets
-----
Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Thank you EJ,

Between you and Turtletary, I am having some major doubts. After all, we are talking about my blonde female leopard tortoise up on the auction block, so to speak.

I already have 1.1 cherry's and I do not need 2 extra males. LOL One extra would be okay with another female, but....

>>At that size it is a gamble all around.
>>
>>The easiest way to tell at that size is to get a photo of them side by side and compare which should be clear if they are the same size.
>>
>>It is a nice looking animal but unless it is a fantastic deal you might want to really consider all options because if you have 2 males you are going to pay through the nose for a female although the males are easier to sell if you are lucky enough to get a couple with good color. The males are usually the nicer in color.
>>
>>Also if you don't get a pair from the same source it can be very difficult a matching type from a different source.
>>
>>>>I asked the person that I am dealing with to send more tail photos, so I should have some more by tonight. He was trading me a pair of cherry's but now I think it might be 2 males.
>>>>
>>>>Thanks again for everyone's help. I will try to post more photos tonight or this weekend.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>Can you post another picture with the tail straight out so you can see the thickness of the tail? A female will usually have a thicker base in relation to the length.
>>>>-----
>>>> Kelly Wood
>>>>
>>>>1.1 Cherry Head Redfoots
>>>>0.1.1 Brazillian Redfoots
>>>>1.1 Leopard tortoises
>>>>1.3 bloodred Bearded Dragons
>>>>0.1 collared lizard
>>>>0.3 Dogs
>>>>1.3 Parakeets
>>-----
>>Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
>>Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care
-----
Kelly Wood

1.1 Cherry Head Redfoots
0.1.1 Brazillian Redfoots
1.1 Leopard tortoises
1.3 bloodred Bearded Dragons
0.1 collared lizard
0.3 Dogs
1.3 Parakeets

EJ does have a point that sexing juvenile redfoots is hard.
While I think that it is complete baloney that cherryheads are a dwarf race, they do generally develop secondary sex characteristics at a smaller size than other redfoots. After having seen literally, a couple thousand of them over the years, I have found that males begin to show adult features at around 5.5 to 7 inches. Some show when even smaller, others don't begin until larger. In time males grow to be as large as 14 inches so a 'female' might surprise you at 9 or 10 inches and 'turn into' a male.
But, I have never seen what appears to be an obvious male, turn out to be a female. In this case (to me) you have an obvious young male just begining to show adult characteristics.

For whatever it is worth, I agree with mayday. The tortoise definitely looks like a male. I am looking at the thickness of the tail, its length, and the distance of the anal opening from the shell. The further away it is, the more likely it is a male. I have seen many young male Star Tortoises with tails just like the one on this Redfoot.

Bill Z

definitely a male

Barry