Pictured is a pair of T.h.boettgeri, male left and female right.

This may seem exaggerated. It is not. 

Notably, most males will be nearly half the size of females. 

2. Tail Length

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The tail length is one of the best ways to tell the gender of your tortoise. Males will have very long tails and females will be very short in comparison. In some species, the males tail will be long and pointy, able to curve around the back end to touch the hind leg (or near touch the hind leg). 

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3. Plastron

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The Shape of a tortoises belly (the Plastron) is noticeably different. Males will have a natural concavity to the plastron. This concavity is so the male tortoise can mount the female tortoise for breeding purposes. Young males introduced to colonies before the development of the plastron concavity have a high chance of flipping onto their back due to being unable to securely mount. For breeding groups, be aware because some males can flip onto their backs and have a difficult time flipping back over, which can lead to death under the heat.

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4. Coloration

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Certain species of tortoises have brighter male colorations than females. The most noticeable would be the box turtles. Adult males have bright red eyes, and the females will have drab hues of brown colors. The Cherry Head Red Foot species if another, the males will have brighter face colors (orange or red) than the females, higher contrast. 

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Soft Shells

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One of the most common issues we see long term in tortoises and turtles are abnormally soft shells. This can be due to a couple things. First and most commonly, Metabolic Bone Disease. ​This is the most common killer in the pet trade for tortoises. 

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Remember, artificial enclosures and set ups require lights which provide the full spectrum to replicate natural sunlight; and a complete and varied nutritional supplementation to keep your tortoise healthy and growing at an appropriate rate. We go into depth on the lighting.

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Remember ALL tortoises need UVB lighting if they are not receiving natural lights (unfiltered by glass or windows). 

Some which we recommend are :

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• Repti-Sun 10.0

• Power Sun 100 watts

• Arcadia D3 +10% T5 HO

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Know which you are buying and using. Each one has requirements for mounting. Some need additional heating fixtures, while others do not. Some have higher outputs than others, and some have focused UVB bathing areas in comparison to full enclosure flooding of UVB. A good general rule is to have a designated area which will be heated up and provide UVB in that designated area. This area should encompass the length of your tortoises at a minimum. If you are housing more than one tortoise together, then it should bath all tortoises equally.

 

The UVB fixtures should be mounted at a minimum of 12 inches from the topsoil of this basking area.

 

If the light is too close, then the tortoise has a high likelihood of going blind over time.

 

If The fixture is too far, the tortoises will not absorb the UVB properties needed to stay healthy and strong.

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Which circles me back around to soft shells. Lack of calcium will soften the shell. If untreated, it will cause organ damage, cellular damage and ultimately death. Some things to watch out for is a darkening of the shell overall. The tortoise shell, when softened, will also expand and change shape. A once oval shell will gain a more water drop shape. Belly bruising is another common sign of soft shells. These visual signs only show up when the tortoises is extremely calcium deficient and immediate intervention is required. 

 

Please see a certified reptile veterinarian in your area.

Please make sure the tortoises is provided with natural sunlight if you are unable to take them to the vet that day its discovered. 

Please make sure your veterinarian is measuring the dosage comparable to the tortoises size.

 

We have attempted to help a lot of people with the recovery of shell softening, and one thing we hear a lot is how easy it is for the tortoises to overdose on the nutritional shots. 

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Lethargy

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There are two reasons for Lethargy:

1. Natural Lethargy

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Not all tortoises brumate. For the purpose of this text, we will call it brumation and not hibernation. Hibernation can only occur in warm-blooded animals, which does not include reptiles. 

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Brumation is a state of dormancy (which appears to be sleep like) which occur in cold-blooded reptiles. This is characterized by a decrease in metabolism, entering a state of suspended animation, will continue to have unpredictable periods of activity like drinking or eating, and will build up a fat storage prior to entering brumation. 

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Not all tortoises brumate!

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To be general and without diving into the thick of it, most (not all) species of Testudo's can brumate under the correct requirements. Lethargy can appear the same as brumation, or it can be a sign of something much worse. 

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2. Unnatural Lethargy

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If you do not have a bruiting tortoise species, and they show signs of lethargy, then I would fear they are sick. Most causes for lethargy in tortoises are bubble mouth and improper lighting / heat setup. It's very important to continue to monitor the ground surface temperatures in your tortoises enclosure. Sometimes changing out the lights during winter will solve the issues. 

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Bubbly Mouth

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Bubbly mouth is observed by seeing bubbles come from the mouth of your tortoise or excess fluid around your tortoise's chin. It can also be characterized by a throwing up motion or wheezing. It is caused by excessive fluid in the mouth. When untreated, it turns into a respiratory infection, which will need medication from a trusted reptile veterinarian. 

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Excessive fluid in the mouth is usually cause by low and unnatural temperatures in non-brumating species. Do not be confused though, you can also find this in bruiting species if they recently experience a prolonged sudden and shocking cold (like a prolonged power outage). The excess liquid in their mouth of cause by undigested food sitting int the gut of the tortoise. When a tortoises has food in their gut, they need external heat to digest the food and absorb its nutritional value. The food, when left undigested, can ferment, and cause excess bile to accumulate. If it is too much for the small stomach, the only way out is through the mouth. The fluid will affect all aspects of quality of life for the tortoises as it attempts to breath. Eventually it will make its way into the tortoises lungs, causing a respiratory infection.

 

Respiratory infections can only be cured by medication (antibiotics). Once the tortoises is diagnosed, medicated and cured of the respiratory infection, make sure to stay vigilant it doesn't occur again. The tortoises will have weaker lungs and can become more prone to additional respiratory infections down the line. 

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Unnatural Discoloration

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Unnatural discoloration brings us back to the softening of the shell.

Please read about the UVB requirements, nutritional supplementation and soft shell protocol we outlines above.

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There are a couple other shell discolorations. White, flaky or peeling shells can be an indication of Shell rot. There are many types of shell rot present in tortoises depending on the bacteria introduced. When dealing with any type of bacterial infections its been to do safe practices.

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1. Sterilize the environment (removing debris, and loose porous items in the enclosure)

2. Disinfect the enclosure

3. Keep the area effected clean as must as practicable 

4. Any tools or scrubbing objects used should not be shared with other animals

5. Separate the one infected and take them to a trusted reptile veterinarian

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Prolapse

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One of the most terrifying things for tortoises are prolapse. There have been many studies, and as of now, nothing definitive as an answer to why it happens. Why do tortoises Prolapse?

 

All we can do is make general guesses. Too much soaking with too warm water. Foreign debris causing immense irritation. Constipation and difficulties passing stool. And vitamin and mineral deficiencies causing the cellular tissue to be weak.

 

No matter what it is from, a trusted reptile veterinarian must treat a prolapse. And afterwards, you must be constantly vigilant due to the likelihood of reoccurring prolapses. 

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Pyramiding

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Unlike popular believe in social media, a pyramid shell is not something to wish on your tortoises. There are many glorified tortoises with shells which had the large spikes, but we do no encourage or promote pyramiding. We, as hobbyists, must see and recognize those tortoises on social media are usually from neglectful homes and have been rescued. Those tortoises should be a cautionary tale and remind all of us tortoise loving hobbyists that improper ecosystems can cause permanent and long term effects to the tortoises.

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While a tortoise may survive with extreme pyramiding, the quality of life in severely impacted. Most notably, a tortoises with exaggerated pyramiding with actually have a curvature of the spine. Remember, all tortoises have attached spinal structures along the ridge of their shell which will pyramid along with the shell. This can lead to stunted growth, pain and lethargy. 

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Certain species are more prone to elongated pyramids. Star tortoises species and leopards being the most commonly seen affected in the pet trade by extreme pyramids. We also recognize there is a certain level of bump which can form without hindering the spinal column. For the purpose of this outline, I will only discus pyramid's which damage the spinal structure and hinder the animal. There are a couple beliefs as to why pyramiding happens in tortoises species. The main ones are:

 

Genetics; some animals are predisposed to pyramiding more than others of the same species or the same lineage. These genetic markers will not be the cause of extreme spikes, but could be the reason why so many tortoises, which are kept together or from the same clutch in the same enclosure are growing differently. 

Humidity; the idea where as the shell becomes dry, the edges tighten and curl, causing a pull. By adding fog machines and raising the humidity subtly, the shell can smooth back out over years as long as it is observed and treated while the tortoises is growing. 

Trauma; scratches and scrapes, natural split growth scutes and the unpredictability of every day tortoise life can cause the shell to grow in weird ways.

Nutrition; the vitamins, minerals and ultimately calcium to make the shell strong is out of sync and the shell becomes irregular because it had to pull nutrients from the shell into the body to create homeostasis. As you can tell, every ailment for tortoises has a possible nutrition factor. Nutrition is one of the three foundations for a healthy tortoises. 

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Each micro-ecosystem which is created in every loving household is different. What works for you may not work for others, and vise versa. As hobbyists, you must overall recognize what your animal is telling you. And as hobbyists, we must recognize the minute cues. 

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Also make sure to visit our tortoise care sheet page for species specific, but very generalized content, for more information not seen here.

 

And if there are any questions, its best to reach us by E-mail.