Gender: Is my Turtle Male or Female?

The following are not clean-cut rules, and not all work for all

turtles, but using a combination of them, will usually help

you determine the gender of your turtle.

* Males often have fatter, bigger tails than females.

* Males have the vent (cloaca) about 2/3 from the shell towards

the tip of the tail. Females have it closer to the shell.

Other, less reliable methods:

* Males have a flat or concave plastron (bottom shell) - so it will

fit better on top of the female. Females have a flat or convex

plastron - so there is more space for eggs.

* Male sliders grow long claws on their front legs.

It is pretty much impossible to tell the gender of a baby turtle.

Since all of these are secondary gender indicators, they develop as

a turtle grows up. How soon you will be able to tell, depends on the

size and age of the turtle; I can't really tell you when, but it may

be a couple of years.