Differentiating Male and Female Pyxis planicauda (Flat-tailed Tortoise)

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Differentiating Male and Female Pyxis planicauda (Flat-tailed Tortoise) - Chris Tabaka DVM

Flat-tailed Tortoise - Pyxis planicauda – Darrell Senneke and Chris Tabaka DVM , ,

Breeding, Incubation and Hatching of the Flat-tailed Tortoise (Pyxis planicauda) - Pat Ruby

This diminutive species has quite possibly all but disappeared from it's native range in Madagascar. Once imported in large numbers, it is now fairly scarce even in the pet market. This is a rather straightforward species in terms of sexing.

An original World Chelonian Trust care sheet can be found at: Flat- tailed Tortoise (Pyxis planicauda) - Darrell Senneke and Chris Tabaka, DVM

There are two primary methods for determining the sex of this genus of Pyxis. The first is the length of the tail. Note the much, much larger tail in the male pictured on the left below as compared to that of the female on the right.


Male *Pyxis planicauda*	Female *Pyxis planicauda*


Male *Pyxis planicauda*	Female *Pyxis planicauda*

The second method of determining sex in flat-tailed tortoises is the plastrons. Adult males have a concave plastron like that seen in the animal on the left. Adult females have completely flat plastrons such as that on the right.


Male *Pyxis planicauda*	Female *Pyxis planicauda*

Subadult male Pyxis planicauda can be a little tricky in terms of their plastrons. Note the large tail but shallow concavity in the male pictured below. With time, a fully concave plastron will develop in this animal.