A bit ago I posted that I thought my female Horsefield had had a prolapse, Darren asked me if I was sure she was a she as a prolapse was unlikely but not impossible. I told Darren that Queenie was a definate female as she'd been sexed by the vet. Today Queenie has had another prolapse (so I thought), she was standing with her back legs straight up and stiff. I picked her up so I could have a closer look......... OMG!! Darren, you were right, it's def not a prolapse, she is not a she and were the hell has he been hiding that, it's massive!!. I've never seen a torts widgey in real life so to speak, only in books so I can tell you it was quite a shock. Hence now two problems I face. The first, a new name I do believe is required (I was thinking Steve as she was, sorry, HE was origionally named after Steve Macqueen from the film The Great Escape. The second, what do I do now about getting another tort?. I've heard that males together will fight quite aggressively. I was really looking forward to having a group of females. Any advise would be great.

PS why do they push their widgies all the way out like that and could it cause harm to him?. Me, I've been scarred for life!!!!!

Awww Bless him

   made me smile    when I read this, just cos he's got a thingy he could still be a queeny if you know what I mean :-) only kidding,

how about a total change and go for something strong like George or Harrold or Brutus :-) as in oh you Brute :-)

xxx Cath 

I must amit when I first seen his thingy and realised what it was I did say a few choice words. It's an all girl household this (apart from Oliver, who only got through the door coz he was a Boxer puppy) but hey, never mind, he's loved just the same, providing he curbs the flashing!. Thanks for the name suggestions Cath, think will stick with Steve though, I can remember that one easy and it will wind my brother up good style ha.

Hi Winnie,

Good news it's not a prolapse:-)
If your keen on adding to another tortoise or two, it might be an idea to look for a couple of larger, older females?

Hope you're well

TC
Darren

Hi Winnie
I was ready for Molly this year, the same thing happened to me last year and I thought it was a prolapse with Molly being a girl, and rushed her over to the vets. There was a rather amusing story came about, that Molly was a hermaphrodite (Having sex organs of male & female) there is still a very big question mark around it, as I have conflicting diagnosis (Molly has had a hysterectomy) my vet is very adament that she is though... anyway that little adventure cost me over £100.00 so this year as I have done my own diagnosis and self education, I am thinking on what I can spend my £100.00 that I saved on (my husband loves my logic!!)

Jane, Keya & Molly

Hi Guys,

Thanks for replying, I hope I didn't come across as being a weido talking about my torts widgy. I take it that this found change means that I can't have a one sex group?. I would really love to have more than just one tort and although the thought of hatching your own babies is very exciting I don't think I know enough on torts to do this. If I were to get older females will they definately mate or could I get away with it coz Steve is only young (or is this a stupid question, although I know in time this would change as Steve will obviously become older but hopefully I would be a lot wiser). What age would the females have to be if I went down this route and how many would I be looking at 3/4. Is it possible to get this many females at the same time as I know you can't put 1 female to 1 male and I don't think I have enough indoor space for more than 2 indoor setups plus a quaranteen (though the spare bedroom is looking tempting). Can I just also ask the question again, is it normal for a torts widgy to come out and will it cause any harm getting covered in substrate?

Many thanks for the advise, sorry if I'm being a pain.

Winnie

Hi Winnie

Well, it is *possible* to keep more than one male as a group, but it doesnt always work out  

I know that Steve is young at the moment, but if you did introduce some lady friends, Im sure it wouldnt be too long before he had decided to get fully acquainted with them <g>  If you dont want them to mate, the only way to stop them is to separate males and females, but if you dont want to do that, but dont want to hatch any eggs that may result, just dont incubate them.  If you decide not to incubate any eggs, I would recommend destroying them very soon after laying so that they dont start to develop.

It is not easy to find more than one female, and you would of course need to quarantine, it is possible to have one male to one female, but you would always need to have a 'sin bin' area for cooling off so that they could be separated if the female was getting too stressed - an additional full enclosure therefore is a must.

Yep, male tortoises do flash <g> soil doesnt seem to do any harm, but if you are using hemp as a substrate, this can cause problems as it is quite sharp,

atb

Arlene TPG

Many thanks Arlene for replying, you've put my mind at rest regarding the flashing, he is on soil/sand so no worries on the hemp side. I'm still getting used to the fact that my tort is a boy. When I talk about my tort to work mates I make it sound like my tort had a sex change whilst in the fridge, it's mad. Do you think it would be ok to get females and then dispose of any eggs if they are laid, I wouldn't be classed as being cruel as the female would of gone to all that trouble of making them. How does the TPG feel about people buying torts from private adds?. This is one route that I am considering but not keen on as all the animals in my house are all rescues, I'm a firm believer of giving that second chance. I would love a rescue tort but know that there a more experienced people who are also offering them homes. I really am stumped on which way to go but for now it looks like it's just me and Steve.

Thanks again, Winnie

Hi Winnie,

I couldn't agree more with the "second chance" stance, but with tortoises it is very much a case that there aren't the number of tortoises out there to meet the demand of good homes - though better to rescue if possible. With Horsfields, in particular, you have to be very careful from whom you obtain them, as you know they unfortunately don't come with licenses so it is difficult to ascertain where they originated. Many are sourced from the wild and so buying from these sources will only encourage the seller to obtain more.
Personally, if you can't get one from a breeder or rehome a tortoise, I would look to get one that is no longer wanted by a member of the general public and they are looking to sell them on. The chances are this will be an ex-pet shop tortoise, but at the same time you won't be encouraging sourcing more tortoises from the wild. You would obviously need to quarantine and perhaps make use of the free faecal screening offered by the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.

HTH
TC
Darren

Hi Winnie,

You can always leave any eggs and let nature take its course?

TC
Darren

Hi Darren,

Do breeders ever have older torts they would be willing to rehome?. I was looking through some ads last night on torts for sale and to be honest I was put off. Some people are asking £500-600 for adult Horsefields, most are kept in vivs, some are saying they are selling 2 yr old females (didn't think you could tell sex at this age) and unbelievibly some were offering swaps!!!!. Isn't this what you do with trump cards/stickers?. I guess I'll just have to wait till I've had some IT tuition, then I can get my name on the rehome list and hope for the best.

Thanks, Winnie

Hi Winnie!

I'm so glad that someone else is going through this too!!!!!!  My little Twiglet is now a boy... Only found out last weekend. All  last week Twiglet has been flashing every day.  Thing is, it really isn't anything to be proud of Twiglet is on 8cm and his bits are tiny lol!!!!!

Poor Tetley who maybe a girl (still not 100% sure) is getting the brunt of Twiglet's new discovery!!!

What ever the animal, boys/men are all the same can't stop playing with it !!!!!!!!!!!!

I've just re-read my post and just want to clarify I am not the one playing with it!!!  Oh I'm really embarrassed now.

I'm sooo sorry Row but I just can't stop laughing after reading your post. God you've cheered me up no-ends. But don't fret me dear, I know what you mean. Did you find your little boy flashing after hibernation?. Only asking coz Steve hid away as Queenie for 10 months before coming out of the closet (or should that be shell?). He did this after his hibernation. What are we like, sitting here chattin about our boys and their toys ha ha.

Take care, Winnie

ps- I'm still gigglin'

Twiglet came out (of hibernation!!!) on the 1st of Jan and just started showing mating behaviour towards Tetley, head bobbing, biting and following.  And then last week he started the mounting!  I thought this was just a dominence thing as both sexed as females before hibernation.  And then well out popped this thing,  like you I thought possible prolapse but then again and again and again and agian he proved to me it was no prolaspe!!!!!!

Glad I've cheered you up!!! it's nice to know you're not alone on this journey of Tort keeping.

Ps.  Thanks for laughing rather than thinking I'm a tort perv lol!!!!!!!!