The four-clawed tortoise is a small tortoise with a body size of only about 13 to 25 cm, the size of the male four-clawed tortoise is about 13 to 20 cm, and the size of the female four-clawed tortoise is about 15 to 25 cm. Male tortoises tend to have longer tails, and females tend to have flared scutellum on their shells, while males do not. The plastron of male four-clawed tortoises is partly concave and partly convex, allowing them to be more stable during mating, while females have a flatter plastron. Colors also vary, but the shell is usually brown or black, while the bulk of the scale is also yellow, and the rest of the body is straw-yellow and brown.

The four-clawed tortoise is less than 12.5 cm in length (5 inches) before, there is little difference between males and females, and it is difficult to tell them apart, when they grow to 12.5 cm (5 inches), the biggest difference is in the tail. FemaleFour-Clawed TortoiseThe tail is relatively short, and the cloaca is *-shaped. Usually, the tail is not bent but falls vertically behind the gluteal shield. The space between the anus and the gluteal shield is relatively large. MalesFour-clawed tortoises have much longer tails and a one cloaca Type, tail bent at the side of the body, small space between the scutellum, and seen from the rear, the scutellum is large and long, and the tail has a horny hook.