Would you name a female tortoise as Slow Coach? Probably not. When I bought Slow Coach from the pet shop, I had not idea what was her gender. The shopkeeper helped me chose a pair from a small tank containing 20 something of these small fifty cents size terrapins.
According to the shopkeeper, males are generally smaller than the females. Males may also have a slightly curved inward under belly or under shell (concave or dented-in plastron). Both of us were quite sure that Slow Coach's under belly was slightly concave. Furthermore, she was definitely physically smaller than her then mate.
So, that's how her journey as "Mr." Slow Coach started ~ a tomboy "tom-tortoise"! Her personal vet had reassured me that "Mr." Slow Coach was indeed a male when I brought her for a general check-up when she was 2 years old.
The truth was only revealed by Mother Nature 1/2 a decade later.
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