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How to Tell if a Turtle Is Male or Female
Whether you choose to breed your turtle or not, determining the gender of your pet can be difficult if you don't know what to look for.
1) Look at the bottom of the turtle. If the bottom shell is convex or goes out, it's probably a female. If its bottom shell is concave or goes in, then the turtle is most likely a male.
2) Look at the turtle's tail. Turtles have a hole which is called the "cloaca" located on their tail. Male turtles have the cloaca located farther away from the body, about half the distance from the shell to the tip of the tail. Female turtles have the cloaca closer to the body, almost under the overlap of the shell.
3) Examine the thickness of the tail. Male turtles often have fatter and longer tails than the female.
4) Look at the turtle's claws. Most male turtles have very long front claws. However, if a male is a "late bloomer" or has been kept in inadequate conditions, the claws may not be noticeably longer.
5) After determining whether your turtle is male or female, you can decide on breeding from there. However, unless you have a rare species of aquatic turtle, breeding is not advised.
Tips:
- Depending on the species of your turtle, there may be other clues.
- Red-eared Slider: The male's front claws are longer than on the female.
- American Box Turtle: 90% of the time, male box turtles have red or orange irises while the female has brown or yellow ones. Also, the female has a tendency to have a higher-domed, rounder upper-shell, while the male has a lower shell with more of an oval or oblong appearance.
- It may help to look at a diagram of the vent on a turtle's tail in a picture. A great book for this is Turtles and Tortoises-A Complete Owner's Manual by Bartlett and Bartlett.
Warnings:
- Some methods are less reliable than others in determining the gender of your turtle. If all the signs point in one direction than you can be assured you have found out the gender. However, if the signs are mixed, you may wish to take your turtle to a vet to be certain.
- There are some variations of sea turtles (specifically, the Kemp Ridley, but there may be others) that have no external signs of which gender they are. Speak with a veterinarian specializing in marine animals to discover which gender your sea turtle is.
- Wash your hands EVERY time you handle a turtle.
- Do not flip your turtle over to determine its gender. This is dangerous for the animal's health.
Take care,
Frog.
How to Tell if a Turtle Is Male or Female
Whether you choose to breed your turtle or not, determining the gender of your pet can be difficult if you don't know what to look for.
1) Look at the bottom of the turtle. If the bottom shell is convex or goes out, it's probably a female. If its bottom shell is concave or goes in, then the turtle is most likely a male.
2) Look at the turtle's tail. Turtles have a hole which is called the "cloaca" located on their tail. Male turtles have the cloaca located farther away from the body, about half the distance from the shell to the tip of the tail. Female turtles have the cloaca closer to the body, almost under the overlap of the shell.
3) Examine the thickness of the tail. Male turtles often have fatter and longer tails than the female.
4) Look at the turtle's claws. Most male turtles have very long front claws. However, if a male is a "late bloomer" or has been kept in inadequate conditions, the claws may not be noticeably longer.
5) After determining whether your turtle is male or female, you can decide on breeding from there. However, unless you have a rare species of aquatic turtle, breeding is not advised.
Tips:
- Depending on the species of your turtle, there may be other clues.
- Red-eared Slider: The male's front claws are longer than on the female.
- American Box Turtle: 90% of the time, male box turtles have red or orange irises while the female has brown or yellow ones. Also, the female has a tendency to have a higher-domed, rounder upper-shell, while the male has a lower shell with more of an oval or oblong appearance.
- It may help to look at a diagram of the vent on a turtle's tail in a picture. A great book for this is Turtles and Tortoises-A Complete Owner's Manual by Bartlett and Bartlett.
Warnings:
- Some methods are less reliable than others in determining the gender of your turtle. If all the signs point in one direction than you can be assured you have found out the gender. However, if the signs are mixed, you may wish to take your turtle to a vet to be certain.
- There are some variations of sea turtles (specifically, the Kemp Ridley, but there may be others) that have no external signs of which gender they are. Speak with a veterinarian specializing in marine animals to discover which gender your sea turtle is.
- Wash your hands EVERY time you handle a turtle.
- Do not flip your turtle over to determine its gender. This is dangerous for the animal's health.
Take care,
Frog.
