Having bought a small turtle, the newly-made owner can hardly be completely sure that he has bought an individual of exactly the gender that he asked the seller. After all, the sex of a turtle can only be determined reliably by the performance of her 6-8 years. By this age, the length of her shell should be more than 10 centimeters. When determining the sex on your own, it is best to focus on the external signs of other representatives of this species, that is, to compare several turtles.
Instructions
Step 1
Take several land turtles of the same age and compare the length of their tails: in mature individuals, the tail of the male is noticeably longer than the tail of the female. Also, the tail of the male is usually bent under the carapace, and the carapace itself above the tail is bent down. It is this feature inherent in the male Central Asian turtles that their owners often do not like, since this shape of the shell promotes smearing on the floor (the turtles are often allowed to crawl freely around the apartment) of the products of their vital activity.
Step 2
Look at the shape of the plastron (the flat abdominal shield of a turtle's shell is called a plastron). If in females the plastron has a flat surface (sometimes even slightly convex), then in males the plastron is noticeably concave inward. This is necessary for males so that during mating the plastron would not interfere with better contact and the male could be held on the shell of a friend.
Step 3
Look at the distance between the back of the abdominal shield (plastron) and the dorsal shield of the carapace (carapace). In males, this distance is shorter than in females.
Step 4
Take a close look at the turtle's jaws. The jaws of females are usually more developed than those of males.
Step 5
Pay attention to the size of the turtle. In the vast majority of land tortoise species, sexually mature males are significantly smaller than females.
Step 6
Turn the turtle upside down and look at the shape of the cloaca. The cloaca of the male Central Asian tortoise has a longitudinal shape, the female - the shape of a chamomile flower or an asterisk.
Step 7
Pay attention to the length of the claws. Male red-eared turtles have longer claws than females. They need this to stroke the females during courtship and holding at the time of mating.
Step 8
Eye color is another sign. Females of marsh turtles have yellow eyes; in males, their color is close to brown or dark brown.
Step 9
Look to see if the turtle has bumps on its shell. In Trionyx, adult males have a smooth shell, and in adult females, the shell is covered with tubercles. After about three years of age, males already have a long tail with a light stripe running along the entire tail.
