", "It helped me find out if my turtle, named Turbo, is a girl or boy, and it is a boy. This article was co-authored by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS. If you keep pet turtles, it's nice to know if you've got boys or girls. The female's cloaca is rounder and more star-shaped than the male's. What is wrong with my poor turtle? The next step in determining the gender of your red eared slider is looking at its tail. Yes, since they are actually atatched to the turtle, unlike hermit crabs (who switch shells as they grow), their shell grows with them. The American box turtle: 90 percent of the time, male box turtles have red or orange irises while the female has brown or yellow ones. The plastron can be used as a good pointer for understanding the gender of a turtle. If your turtle is young, you can compare it to the size of other turtles in the species to get an idea of how old it is. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. Flow of urine: The flow of urine can sometimes be spotted in a fetus.If it is moving upward, then it is more likely a boy. Turtles reach full maturity in five-to-eight years. When doing an ultrasound to determine the sex of your baby, an ultrasound technician will actually look for girl genitalia—labia and clitoris. Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. Even people who don't ordinarily like reptiles often find themselves drawn to baby turtles. The turtle’s shell, or carapace, differs slightly between male and female. It's pretty cool, we weren't looking for turtles, just happen to run into them. However, after reaching sexual maturity male sea turtles develop a long tail, which houses the reproductive organ.The tail may extend past the hind flippers. The differences between male and female turtles can be subtle and are easier to spot if you have one turtle of each sex so that you can compare. As Jan explains: “Despite popular belief it is a lot harder to tell the sex on a 3D or 4D scan. If the turtles are the same age, or are both fully grown, you should be able to guess at the gender of the turtle. Baby sea turtles don't have x or y chromosomes that determine their gender. If the plastron is indented, or concave, it is most likely male. Differences between male and female Western painted turtles are similar to those of red-eared sliders. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. For instance, if the turtle had 14 rings, you can guess that the turtle is 7 years old, as every 2 rings may represent a year. tortoise. But this really helped, it's a girl! A female turtle will lay eggs while a male turtle won’t. Be aware that you might have to wait years until your turtle is fully grown and you can determine the gender effectively. When sea turtles are juveniles, it is very difficult to tell their sex by eye as they do not differ externally. This trait is also present on the box turtles and some semi aquatic water turtles. Freshwater species such as red-eared sliders are often sold at pet stores when they reach four inches in size. This includes the size differences, curve of the plastron, and tail length; however, tortoise tail notches can be subtly different such that the male has a more "V" shaped notch, whilst the female's is "U" shaped. ", "Helped me determine that my turtle is a male. Also males tend to have longer tails than females, again to aid in mating. Last Updated: November 17, 2020 I might try to hand feed it with lettuce and build an outdoor arena now that I know. There can be an overlap in size between a large male and a small female, so it’s not possible to predict the gender based on size alone. ", out my turtle is a male. The clitoris situated between the labial lips … If your turtle has already reached maturity then it should be really easy to find out. This should, "This helped me more than any other site I have looked at to determine if I have female or male turtles! However, if the signs are mixed, you may wish to take your turtle to a vet to be certain. Look at its claws. It may help to look at a diagram of the vent on a turtle's tail in a picture. However, there are no useful or consistent differences in the shell between the genders when it comes to telling male from female. However, after reaching sexual maturity male sea turtles develop a long tail, which houses the reproductive organ.The tail may extend past the hind flippers. Many pet-owners enjoy the antics of their Red-eared Slider for months or even years without concerning themselves as to whether their pet is a male or a female. Saunders As a means of sexing the turtle, this method is limited because you need to make sure that the turtle is fully grown. It is extremely difficult to sex a baby turtle. 2  These shapes enable male turtles to more easily mount a female during mating, and they give females more room to hold eggs internally. but i … We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. Male Mississippi map turtles grow from about 3 1/2 inches to about 5 inches long, measuring along the shell from the head to the tail. What can I do to figure out its gender? The shell underneath the tortoise is called the plastron. Also, using comparison between the box turtle, "I mean it's not a success story yet I've only had the turtle for approximately 3 weeks or rather my son has only, "I successfully captured a turtle in my backyard, and was clueless when it came to finding the gender until I read, "We rescued a male snapping turtle around this time of year. If the eggs incubate above 87.8° Fahrenheit, however, the hatchlings will be female. Unless you know when a turtle is born, it's nearly impossible to tell its age. He is great. By using our site, you agree to our. If the cloaca is closer to the tip of the tail than the shell, the turtle is likely male. Once you've completed each of these three tests, you should know the sex of the turtle. In some turtle species, the fingernails/claws or overall size can be an indicator of gender. Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. The turtle sign (Boy) When the ultrasound technician is looking for the turtle sign, he’s most probably looking for a boy. For more tips from our Veterinary reviewer, like how to determine your turtle’s gender based on its species, read on! Depends on the type of turtle. ", How to Tell If a Turtle Is Male or Female, http://www.turtlecare.net/home/turtle-topics-parent/gender, http://www.allturtles.com/turtle-newbie/turtle-faqs/, Das Geschlecht einer Schildkröte bestimmen, Capire se una Tartaruga è Maschio o Femmina, Het geslacht van een schildpad vaststellen, Bir Kaplumbağanın Erkek Veya Dişi Olduğu Nasıl Anlaşılır, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. ", "The detailed characteristics like tail size and shell shapes helped. Yes, it should. ", "I find wikiHow very useful, and this article was also, as always, very helpful. The next step in determining the gender of your red eared slider is looking at its tail. Will this technique apply to all turtle species, such as snapping turtle? This article has been viewed 2,296,046 times. 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