Look at your turtle’s shell. One way to recognize the stripe-skinned common map turtle, found from southern Canada to central Alabama and west to Oklahoma, is by the small yellow spot behind each eye. 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. This helps to accommodate the length of the penis since this reproductive organ needs to be brought close to the female’s reproductive organ during mating for fertilization to occur. Plus, your vet will probably do the dreaded anus check for you – if you ask nicely. If the turtles are the same age, or are both fully grown, you should be able to guess at the gender of the turtle. Thus, there are a number of signs to look for it. I do, however, suggest that if you see fangs on your turtle, you set him carefully down and run for cover just in case. However, the sex of most turtles, alligators, and crocodiles is determined after fertilization. This is because they use them to touch the face of the female to gauge their openness to mating. The tail may extend past the hind flippers. Generally, the females are larger than the males, so observing and comparing the difference in size can be decisive in … See the enlargement. If just the tail tip shows when the turtle extends the tail, it is most likely female. The gender of a turtle does not affect the age of the turtle. I am looking to get my 9 year old daughter a turtle. The reason for this trait is because it allows the males to fit on top of the females shell when they are mating. Until then, you can only assume. You can check the individual care sheets for more information on that here https://www.allturtles.com/tortoise-species/, Turtle Eyes (What Can They See & What Issues Do they Have). 8 Ways to tell whether a Turtle is Male or Female - YouTube It's a really common question! By carefully observing these parts on adult turtles you can easily distinguish a … You want to be careful handling your turtle, and you will have to look at the tail and plastron (the bottom shell of the turtle — if you were looking at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it would be their bellies). This Desert Tortoise looks like a female. The male turtle usually has a concave in its plastron that makes it easier for it to climb on the female during mating. This is also a female Desert Tortoise. Maders. The easiest way to tell the gender of a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta) or painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is to look at the animal's fingernails. Before going into more detail about each of them I want to tell you that all of the mentioned characteristics will become noticeable as the turtle ages. Turtle’s Plastron. Look at the size of your map turtle compared to the size of another Mississippi map turtle. First of look at the front legs and the size of their nails. Did it help you? You can tell the difference of a male and female water turtle thanks to some key features. If your turtle has already reached maturity then it should be really easy to find out. thats my current filtration set up. Nov 15, 2019 - How can I tell the gender of my turtle or tortoise? If the concave exists then it is a male, in case of a female the plastron will be flat. Photography. Nov 15, 2019 - How can I tell the gender of my turtle or tortoise? Any pictures to compare because I can't tell by the tail and arch and stuff and it's sort of awkward for a twelve year old to lift up a turtle's tail and check for whichever.... Pictures to compare the arch or tail or whatever will help :) My turtle is about 3legnth by 2width (inches) One of the more common ways to sex your turtle is to look at the tail. The male has a shell that is much lighter in colour than that of the female, whose shell grows darker with age. Female plastrons will be either flat or slightly convex. An adult female turtle has a … In some turtle species, the fingernails/claws or overall size can be an indicator of gender. Look up by the head at the gooler scutes. An adult female turtle has a slightly longer shell than an adult male has. Female turtles have a short tail, which generally doesn’t extend more than 10 cm (4 inches) past the edge of the carapace. Looking at the bottom of the tortoise’s shell you will immediately be able to tell the difference between a male and female given that on males it will be concave (meaning it goes inward). Here you can go back to check where the tail comes out and look at the size of the anal scutes where the tail comes out. When the tail is relaxed, the cloaca is situated behind the rim of the shell. One of the most common questions we get at All Turtles is How can you tell if your turtle is a male or female. A Joe or a Josephine? Along with their nails the tails are also going to be longer than females. And females have a concave plastron in order to have more room inside them for carrying eggs. The turtle’s shell, or carapace, differs slightly between male and female. Males (above) have a large, thick tail. Placental viviparous sharks give birth in a way similar to mammals—the … While it’s true that size and age are correlated, the size of a turtle is influenced greatly by the quantity of food tha… Turtle Sign . I think it is a male and a female, because the shape of the notch is formed as a V on one of them, and as a U on the other one. Typical plastron lengths for mature males are between a little less than 3 inches and a little less than 4 inches. Best Answer. The males will use their fingernails to stimulate a female's cheeks and test receptivity. Determining the sex of these turtles is simple when you're comparing a male and a female of the same age and species since the female is noticeably larger than the male. See the enlargement. 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