I Have a turtle, but I do not know if it is a male or a female. Are there any signs which can help me know?

Question

I found a desert tutle in my garden but I cannot determine if it is a male or a female, how can I know for sure what it's gender is?

Answer 1

males have a short stubby tail and females have a longer slender tail, At least thats the way with painted turtles

Answer 2

The basic guidelines are that males have a strongly incurved belly and longer thinner tails while females have flat or bulging bellies and shorter, wider tails. None of this works until the turtle is getting near reproductive size.

Desert tortoises are wonderful animals that are probably on of the most protected reptiles in the US. If it is a desert tortoise, you may wish to contact your local game and parks department for guidelines. In many places, if you are found with it you can be heavily fined.

By the way- they make poor pets because they want to burrow A LOT. If it is OK with the local law, let it be a visiting garden pet. Encourage it's visiting with a good water source and good foods.

Try http://www.tortoise.org for more ideas.

Answer 3

The shape of the plastern ( the shell underneath) is a good sign. A males will be concave, rounded, and a females will be straighter. Also, look at their tales. The male usually has a longer, thinner tail where the female usually has a shorter, fatter tail. Also, in some species of turtles, the males have longer front claws than the females.
HTH :-)

Answer 4

It's the shape of the under-shell. Males have a concave under-shell. (It curves in) Females have a flat to slightly round under-shell. Also check the claws. Males have long raptor-like claws.