By Scott Solar

Female

The African Spurred Tortoise (Geochelone sulcata) is currently one of the most commonly bred and kept pet tortoises in the USA. Many of the offspring sold in the last few years are nearing adulthood and owners all over are wanting to know the gender of their pet. Some of these animals are readily sexable as males at a very small size of perhaps 10" SCL. Others are unsexable until puberty is reached at 14" to 16" SCL. Here I have photos of a 16" pair that are clearly male and female. Two characters jump out

Male

as obvious indicators of gender. First is the shape of the anal notch. This in conjunction with the shape and length of the gular projection should be a definitive indicator of your tortoises gender. That is, if it is large enough. Unless your pet is definitely a male at a size smaller than 16" SCL then the gender may remain undetermined until this size is attained. Animals 16" SCL and larger should be as obvious as those in these images.

Clearly, females have a much smaller gular projection and the anal notch has a shape advantageous for eggs to pass through. The male's anal notch is much wider and narrower.

I hope this helps.