first sorry i seem to be bombarding the site with questions. second well we were told the tortiose we had was a girl hence the name stella yet when i look on the net on sexing a hermann tortiose the pictures it shows of a male and felmale the female picture does not look like the tail on ours the tail on ours looks very much like a boys its long and curled up (under the shell) my understanding is a female would be short and kinda just stick out straight which ours isnt doing please help any one were back to saying "it" which isnt nice but neither is calling him/her stella if its a boy

Hi

I may have missed it, but how old is S/he approx?

Jane

we are not sure about the age because he/she is a rescue but if this helps then he/she fits into the palm of a mans hand so just but bigger than a womans judging by the size i dont think he/she can be over 10  sorry if that doesnt help

s/he is about 6-7 inches but we arnt sure what s/hes diet has been like so not sure you could go off that

Hi Angel
Sounds like S/he is too young to sex at the moment, although it does also depend on what species, and where did the women buy her from Petshop, Garden Centre or Breeder ?(could be wild caught if petshops/Garden Centres,as they are alot smaller than UK captive)
Jane, Keya & Molly

well s/he is a hermann tortoise the woman we had her from also rescued him/her and also isnt sure how old either so its a bit mind playing at the moment. also im a little worried i dont feel she was kept very well in her previous home and i know the homes befor were appalling but s/he is very quiet and hasnt eaten today either which is worring me i know its prob because of the move but if you could reasure me  thatd be great

Hi Angel
Are you giving Stella  baths.? I ask this because you can tell a bit about what is going on inside, e.g. dehydration worms. Are stella's eye,s & nose clear? sorry for lots of questions it is just that it helps to build pictures.   
,It can take a few days for them to settle in,but if it was me I would look at getting her checked over by a vet who specialises in tortoises if she doesn't pick up by the end of the week or if she deteriorates before then. I hope that helps until one of the TPG can come on line and give you some advice
Jane Keya & Molly

Hi Angel
Sorry forgot to say, that really you need to get her correct weight & size,using the Jackson Ratio method, you can find how to do that on the link on the left under The Tortoise. That will also give you an idea on her health. All these factors help to eliminate different problems, or highlight problems. Also as she is a Hermans ans the rough size you gave, she is too young to sex at the moment, normally about 7yrs it is apparent.
Jane, Keya & Molly 

she had her first bath today didnt drink all that much didnt really have her head submurged for long either she had what she wanted then just sat looking at us with her head above water so we took her out shes spent most  her time since under the heat lamp we dried her off well as to assure no chance of shell rot or leaveher colder than she needed be. i hope it is just as suspected that itll tak her a while settle its so infuriating that previous owners didnt care for her properly either  she sooo beautifull

sorry yes her eyes and nose look clear she blew bubbles whilst drinking earlier

Hi Angel
That is good that eyes and nose are clear. The bubbles are probably where she was having a drink, good that she is drinking. Yes it is very heartbreaking some of the histories of some torts, but sometimes it is just pure ignorance. That is why it is brilliant that we have these sites to learn from and help educate others.
Sounds like Stella is a lucky little tort to have found you, hopefully now she has the care she needs and she will start to come out of her shell
Jane Keya & Molly

Hi Angel
Just re-read your post, was thinking you said 6cms but you said inches.. at that size you would be able to sex and by the sounds Stella is a He, but really a photo would of Him/Her would be better to see. If Stella is a him I would have a complete name change, my Molly was called Edna, infact she never responded to the name Edna but she did Molly... must have been grateful for her new name
It is quite hard to age tortoises,  and I am guessing that you did not get any paper with him
Jane, Keya & Molly

Hi Angel,

Have you photos of Stella, particularly the tail area and also of her accommodation please?

Good to hear from you:-)

hi thanks for all replies to my post its so great to have people talk to about these worries knowing im not going get mixed answers to confuse me more. Any way we have called him/her bits n bobs untill the gender is determined sorry no not got any photos of bits n bobs yet will try get one of the tail end though how do i post the picture? also he/she has drank but still will not eat he/she spent all night under the heat lamp last night and is finally warm now he/she was very cold when we got him/her and so glad that he/she is now warmed up he/she still worrying me because they wont eat he/she has been for a wee over night though which is good my partner is thinking of phoning the woman we had bits n bobs from to find out why he/she isnt eating ect. i think tortoise7 asked about papers sorry if im wrong bout the name but no there isnt any papers he/she was given to usas i say as a rescue tortoise the papers were lost by the previous owner. i personally have said that if this woman we had the tortoise from cant help we will go to thevets allthough not sure where we going find a good reptile vet where we are we live in stoke-on-trent i may phone our local vet hopefully if they cant help they can give us information on some one who can. bits n bobs will be going for his/her bath soon and if he/she not eaten by tnight im taking action although we not had him/her long she/he feels like part of the family like one of my children allready as if they been here yearsand itd crush me to loose him/her now he/she is far to beatifull to be lost.

Hi Angel

Try not to worry too much about him not eating at the moment, he is drinking which is important - a tortoise needs to be warm before he will eat, and it sounds as though Bits has got a bit cold, so it may take him a little while to fully warm up so that his core temperature is raised.  It does also take them a little while to settle in sometimes, and many tortoises go off their food for a little while when they get to a new home, it may also be that he has been used to eating a different diet, again this will need getting used to.  Can you let us know what temps you have in the tortoise enclosure?

atb

Arlene TPG

its currently just under 100 its a standard thermometer she just sits under it all day and all night  very worried

its 32c

Hi, 32c is ok under the basking lamp, the rest of the enclosure should be about 20c. The basking lamp and UV should be turned off at night.

Regards Vivienne

going back to the sex a males tail are mostly longer than a females all so a males tail has a little nail at the end you can all so look at the back of the shell the panel above the tail is wider than a females its hard to sex a tortoise is easier to sex after 5 years old