im not real sure of the species.. the guy at petco says its a mud.. but it also looks like a musk..He also says it a female, how can i be sure of what it is? this turtle crawled up to my front door.. must of ran away from owners.. but decided to keep it.. can anyone help me answer these questions? also is there a certain temp it needs to be?
2007-08-04 14:37:19 · 4 answers · asked by jamiekay1983 2 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Sexing a turtle and determining their age is simple. The bottom of the carapace on a male has an indentation to allow for mating, and a females is relatively flat. To determine their age, count the rings on the scoots, just as you would a tree. As a turtle grows, new, slightly larger scoots grow under the old ones. Just as in a tree, there will be subtle variations in size, determined by factors such as the availability of food and the health of the turtle.
To help you determine what species your turtle is, go to enature.com. If you type in your zip code, it will show you the wildlife found in your area.
2007-08-04 14:46:37 · answer #1 · answered by Darla G 5 · 5⤊ 1⤋
1. Age: No way to know for sure. You can count the rings on the scutes, but they do not grow one ring a year- they grow all the time- sometimes adding many in a season, sometimes barely adding any in a bad year.
On the other hand, there really is no real need to know the age for anything except curiosity, so count the rings and divide by 3 for a decent guesstimate.
2. Species: pay no attention to the guesses of non-experts. There is a photo gallery here you can try: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/world_of_turtles/
3. Came to your house: This is probably a wild turtle and should be returned to the wild ASAP. Wild turtles make poor pets and there is a shortage of most species in most places.
4. Decided to keep it: Keeping a wild turtle is more like kid-napping it, but I won't nag you IF you promise to do things right. you will be amazed by hard awkward it can be to make a good home for it. Try this link: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-mismud.htm or this one: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/firstturtle.htm
The links will help with diet, temps, etc.
Good luck!
2007-08-04 18:38:23 · answer #2 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its good to have a turtle handbook to tell turtles apart, sexing is easy if its tail is long and it folds its a boy, if it is a short triangle that sticks out its a girl. and 75-90 is a good tempature range aim towards 82-87 area its the best.
2007-08-07 15:28:34 · answer #3 · answered by Danny L 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
. Yes, you can cut it open and count the rings inside its shell. Then cut around its tail, open that up and examine for a sex organ. Like they say about boiling a lobster, it doesn't really hurt much, or for long. .
2007-08-04 14:42:32 · answer #4 · answered by jim bo 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋