Does anyone know much about Map Turtles??

Question

I have two baby map turltes, had them for about 7 weeks. How do you tell if you have male or female?

I bought a florida baby turlte at the weekend and put him in with the map turltes and he was fine up till yesterday and he died last night. Any ideas why? The water they are in is fine as we have tested it and was advised by the aquarium that to out the 3 turtles together was fine!

Do you know of any websites i can go to for more info?

Thanks

Answer 1

I have two turtles, and I couldn't sex then until they were a little older. As someone said before, males have longer claws and tail and the female are usually larger. I took mine to a specialist reptile vet and he sexed them for me, but they were just coming up to a 6/8 months old then.

Answer 2

In Graptemys, males and females are relatively easy to tell apart. As with most turtle species the male has a longer and thicker tail than the female, with the vent posterior to the margin of the carapace. Male turtles of some species (G. flavimaculata, G. nigrinoda, G. oculifera, G. ouachitensis, and G. pseudogeographica) possess elongated claws on their forefeet. Final adult size also can be a distinguishing characteristic. For many adults, the smallest female will be as large as or larger than the largest male. Finally, females of some species, most notably G. barbouri, G. pulchra and G. geographica, develop very large, broad heads with heavy jaws.

Answer 3

The best general turtle care site I know of is http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

You cannot reliably sex baby turtles. In fact, until they get close to sexual maturity, about 3-4", it is tough period.

For maps. you would look for the tail adn belly shell (plastron). In males, the tail is VERY long and thin, with the vent opening (cloaca) about in the middle and the plastron is in-curved.

Females have shorter (but still long) tails with the cloaca near the base, and either flat or outcurved plastrons.

The most common reason a baby turtle dies is cold water. Maps like sun-warmed water, around 75-80F.

You may want to check the above site for some good care guidelines.

Answer 4

http://www.unc.edu/~dtkirkpa/stuff/maps.html
http://www.chelonia.org/articles/graptemyscare.htm
http://www.mapturtles.com/
hope any of these help