how do i tell if a tortoise is a male or female?

Question

my tortoise has yellow stripes on its head. i hope that helps.

Answer 1

depends on the type of tortiose it is

Answer 2

Another common question that I am asked is "How can I tell what sex my tortoise is?"

The most important factor in determining sex is the tortoise's size. Until a male reaches 5" they often appear the same as a female. Some however show male characteristic at smaller sizes. However, I have been surprised on more than one occasion to find that my female was actually a male!

Females have a short stubby tail. The cloaca resembles an asterisk *

The tail of the male is much longer and usually is carried to the side. At the tip is curved hard "spur" that is used to help with mating. The female can also have a spur, but it is smaller. The cloaca resembles a long slit

Answer 3

If you do not know what kind of tortoise you have, you cannot be offering it the right care, so step one is to identify the tortoise.

Either photograph it and post the photos on a photo-sharing site like photobucket, or look at the World of Turtles gallery at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Once you know the species, we can help with the sexing- but there is no way to accurately sex most tortoises until they near reproductive age, about 4-6" long.