Turtle Sexing

January 20, 2006 9:37 PM

Help me sex my Red Eared Slider

I'm trying to figure out how big my turtle is going to get, and how long it could live. I've found a lot of conflicting information on the web, and I'm dying of curiosity. My turtle is at least three years old, and his shell is six inches long. Best answer would help me figure the sex out on my own, rather than send me to a vet.

posted by popechunk to pets & animals (14 comments total)

Um, in case it's not clear, I understand that girls end up much larger than boys.
posted by popechunk at 9:39 PM on January 20, 2006

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/aquaticturtles/f/sexingres.htm
posted by Rubber Soul at 10:08 PM on January 20, 2006

Males have very long front claws and longer, thicker tails with a cloacal opening that extends past the edge of the carapace. Females have shorter front claws, shorter, thinner tails and their cloacal openings do not extend past the edge of the carapace.
posted by TimeFactor at 10:09 PM on January 20, 2006

I'm sorta hip to the tail and claw stuff, but, since I only know the one turtle, and his (her?) claws and tail don't look drastically like many of the examples I've seen, I'm having a hard time figuring it out.

In other words, his (its) claws are shortish, his (its) tail is largish. You get my drift.

At what age are these things totally obvious?

I'll have to take a gander at the relative concaveness of his plastron when he's not sleeping
posted by popechunk at 10:18 PM on January 20, 2006

Also, I would like to encourage any RES owners who would care to share their turtle's age/sex/length.

A large part of the motivation for me asking this question is that I saw a website or two claiming that a female RES could grow to 15 inches. Since my turtle is outgrowing his current environment, I would like to correctly scale his (her) next one.
posted by popechunk at 10:28 PM on January 20, 2006

Rubber Soul and Time Factor, thank you for your answers.

Do you have any more info on the cloaca that would help me figure out a way to eyeball my turtle and figure this out? I am admittedly confused by the info on the pages (regarding the cloaca) you provided.
posted by popechunk at 10:33 PM on January 20, 2006

You should be able to tell on a three-year old turtle. You don't need a second turtle for comparison if you use the position of the cloacal opening vs. shell edge method. Here's a page with pictures (painted turtles but the idea is the same). And I've been able to distinguish sex of wild turtles (but not red-eared sliders) by binocular based on claw length alone so it shouldn't be that difficult for a captive so I'm guessing female if the claws aren't clearly very long.
posted by TimeFactor at 10:35 PM on January 20, 2006

Gaaaaa!!! I'm to stupid to own a turtle! I don't think the cloaca page helped me, TimeFactor. Thank you, though :-)

If I can, I will take a picture or two in the morning and post 'em.

Any ideas on how big my turtle might get either way?
posted by popechunk at 10:53 PM on January 20, 2006

My, that was a provocative lead-in! Sorry, I have no information for you. Carry on.
posted by rob511 at 12:20 AM on January 21, 2006

Pope, if you can see your turtle's junk without tuggin' on the tail, it's a dude. If the turtle's junk is mostly hidden, then you got a chick. Capisce?
posted by SpecialK at 12:41 AM on January 21, 2006

(err, capiche. Dude, I'm so not up to being The Godfather past midnight.)
posted by SpecialK at 12:42 AM on January 21, 2006

The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks
Which practically conceal its sex.
I think it clever of the turtle
In such a fix to be so fertile.
--Ogden Nash.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:21 AM on January 21, 2006

Based on your descriptions, I think you have a female. Male's claws get really long--so much that you would realize it almost immediately. Females tend to look more ordinary.

Your turtle will grow to fill her environment. You really need a 50 gal+ aquarium for her. True turtle keepers keep their turtles in open pools--like a kid's swimming pool--instead of an aquarium.

Lastly, check out the Happy Turtle Forum: Out of all the websites that mention red eared sliders, and turtles in general, it has the most and best information.

http://www.invisionfree.com/forums/Happy_Turtles_Pub

\has two male RES. Wanna trade?
posted by lester at 6:29 AM on January 21, 2006

Thanks to everyone for their posts. It's a girl!!!

The links you shared were incredibly useful.
posted by popechunk at 4:16 PM on January 22, 2006