Reptile & Amphibian Forums

He is 11 inches and 10 pounds...so he may still be a bit small to tell...this is a rescue I acquired yesterday with among the most severe pyramiding I have ever seen!

After one day with this guy, and hours and hours of research, I think I should start a site called why not to buy a sulcata! I can't believe anyone would buy this animal, not research, and cause such significant psychological and physical damage. It almost brings me to tears seeing him free to roam and graze in the yard, because I know he never had that before. I am a science teacher, and hope to use this guy as an educational animal, and I am surely going to teach the kids that these are not good pets for 97% of the population
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Thanks,
Amy

My Boids

This guy walks with his tail curled against his body...normal? Even stranger I saw him evert some tissue from his vent when he was roaming the yard. At first I thought it was an intestinal prolapse, but unlike intestines, the tissue actually had a "tip" at the end....I am now thinking perhaps he was flagging?!
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Thanks,
Amy

My Boids

Really too small to tell but it does have some female characteristics so it could probably go either way. Walking with the tail curled is normal and it was most likely just flagging new territory, I have females that do that as well.

Haha....thanks for the information. The belly isn't too concave, that is for sure. I'll post some more pictures later when he/she grows up a bit

Is flagging a way of passing on scent?
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Thanks,
Amy

My Boids

As far as I know its just a way of scent marking and trying to be dominant over other tortoises.

what do you mean by FLAGGING? I don't get it, when you saw the tissue come out of the vent what did it look like? my sulcata has had this tissue come out and it looked like his penis.. tip at the end but kind of looks like heart shaped tounge for lack of a better description. it had muscle because it moved on its own. I have seen my male greeks member come out and it was similar to that so thats why I asumed this tissue was his penis. am I missing something with this flagging? do females have something that protrudes out of the vent that I am not aware of?
thanks for a reply

Males and females both do it, as far as I know its just intestinal tissue they push out to flag territory, mark scent, show dominance, attract mates, etc.

Hi!

I am not sure what a torts male member looks like, but it did have a tip and moved on its own. It did not look like typical prolapsed intestine, and was not associated with defecation. In fact the tort had quite a liquid stool in my car later that day (lucky me).

I am not sure about female flagging...I read about it in reference to males myself, so I am wondering the same!
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Thanks,
Amy

My Boids

my male will show his penis when he gets a soak sometimes. if it moves on its own in dirrection not just in and out but side to side and has the pointed tip i'd say u have male like me.. i'll try to get pics of it next nath time. kinda feel like aperv taking pics of it but in the name of science.... you know...

Your so funny!

I would appreciate the pics...now do I sound like a "sicko"...I am asking for pics of your torts. male anatomy..hmmmm!
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Thanks,
Amy

My Boids

ya you do sound like a perv amy..... Just kidding. in the name of science right? I gave him a bath this week end but I guess I didn't do it the way he likes it cause I guess I didn't turn him on. (this is out of control) the moderators gonna tell us to take it to a private chat room. ha ha.
I'll keep trying I'll post as soon as I get them.
thanks Amy
chris

I am intriqued by this post. There is a large sully in a local shop that I swear is a female, but the owner insists it is a male due to the fact that it "flagged". Has anyone else observed this behavior in females?
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-Jake
0.0.1 Uromastyx geyri
1.1 L.t. annulata
1.1 L.g. californiae
2.1 Pseudemys nelsoni
1.0 Geochelone sulcata
0.1 mexican double yellowheaded amazon parrot