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How do you sex a Burmese Brown mtn. tortoise??? I have a tort. that measures aprox. 8" from the front to the back of the shell and I want to see if I can sex it right now? What is the website URL for Defying Destiny too? Thanks for your help and have a great day!

- Justin M.

Hello

Find Attached are 2 pic of Male n Female M.emys emys or Burmese Mtn. Tortoise. The Male has a larger ,longer tail while the Female a shorter one but both animals are 15 - 16 inches long
8 inches is a bit tricky to sex
But do post a pic of the tail area i will try my best to help u .
Top pic is the Male
Bottom Pic is the Female

CHEERS SAM

M. emys cannot be sexed with certainty visually, except in some old and very large animals. Endoscopy is the best way. Females mount other females at times, so only egg-laying or endoscopy really identifies a female. Some dealers like to say they've got a sexed pair or an animal of known sex, but that is rarely trustworthy.

...i have 9 Emys now and absolutely love this species. i bought my first "pair" 7 yrs ago from CalZoo. i was there hand picking w/c leopards and bells for resale at an upcoming san diego reptile show when i saw these two "ugly" "plain" tortoises in the turtle section. they had these slightly angled tubs that they could fill and flush with water automatically (really nice set up). i had seen them before but not in person and they reminded me of my desert tortoises our family had kept in our backyard growing up. i bought them and took them to the reptile show to sell. my booth was set up next to Richard Cary Paull (author of several tortoise books and a very interesting and nice guy). he told me how personable this species was and shared some of his expertise with me. he told me that the females will usually have a higher and "more domed" look to them. he pointed at my female without turning it over and said "that looks like a female to me". luckily nobody bought them and we fell in love with their personalities. unfortunately the male died a few years back. i believe mr.paull had it right as here is an underside shot of her today. her tail just reaches the first marginal scute. she has a very flat plastron, her tail opening is very rounded and a new male we bought 2 summers ago "fell in love with her at first sight". the second pic shows the new males tail extending into the first marginal. his plastron is concave and obviously a male. the third pic is a supposed "guranteed pair" sold to me by someone who has been in the hobby a long time. i didnt question his belief when i saw the pic of their plastrons. i do realize its still a gamble but i felt by just going off the tail openings one rounded and one more of a "V" that i had a good shot i got at least one female.this pair is only about 9 inches long. we then purchased two more "females" a couple months back. unfortunately i dont have pics yet. but the large ones "shape" looks to be just what mr. Paull was speaking of. she also has a small tail and a flat plastron but her tail opening is more of a "V", a more open "V" than the large males, but still not the really nice rounded opening of my first female. i think you need to look at several things combined to make a judgement call and the larger the better. thanks for looking, john yocum

heres a shot of the two new males. their tails are very thick and long and the tail/anal opening a very pointed sharp "V".