5 Different Ways to Identify Your Turtle’s Sex

Raising a pet of your own had always been a popular dream for animal lovers everywhere. From dogs, to cats, to even wild animals – your animal companion could be found anywhere. Looking back at the varied choices, the turtle has managed to steal a lot of hearts along the way.

As the human companion of your turtle friend, there are crucial information you need to know in order to raise them well. One important information is to identify the sex of your animal companion – because, biologically, different sex would require different needs. So, without further ado, here are 5 different ways to identify your turtle’s sex!

1. The Shape of Their Breastplate and Exterior

One of the most common identification format is to observe the shape of the turtle’s breastplate and exterior. Adult male turtles would have a bended exterior and a concave breastplate, whilst adult female turtles physique would be much more flatter. However, this form of identification is only reliable once they’ve reached adulthood – because young turtles’ breastplate and exterior has not fully developed yet.

2. The Shape of Their Nails

Another common identification form can be found by the shape of their nails. Male turtles would generally have longer and sharper nails in comparison to their female counterparts. These nails are used to help secure female turtles when copulating and mating – so, by nature, female turtles do not necessarily benefit from longer and sharper nails.

3. Their Genetalia

The most obvious sex recognition for turtles is simply observing the shape of their genitals. The male turtle’s penis is located at the end of their breastplate, whilst the female turtle does not have any protruding organs. To get a better look on it, you could gently press their shells as it pops out. Be as gentle as you can, especially for younger turtles, as a reckless handling on this animal could result to unwanted harm – or even death.

4. The Shape of Their Tails

You could also distinguish the difference between the two sexes by observing the shape of their tails. Male turtles would have a longer tail and sturdier tail than their female counterparts – an identification form that flows the same logic as their nails.

5. The Shape of Their Shells

The last form of identification you could employ would be recognising the shape of their shells. Adult female turtles would generally have a longer shell, whilst their male turtles would be slightly shorter than their female counterparts. However, this form of identification may not be as reliable as the others – considering that the terms “long” and “short” are relative. Even so, it would be much less accurate than how it is now if this method is tested on younger turtles – noted that their shells have not fully developed.

This marks the end of the list of 5 Different Ways to Identify Your Turtle’s Sex. We hope that the information above would be useful to help you raise your turtle companion well!