Red Eared Slider Turtles : How To Determine The Gender

Baby Red Eared Slider Turtles

Many pet owners enjoy the antics of the red eared slider turtle for months or even years, without having to worry if their pet's gender, it is a male or a female. Finally, however, curiosity takes over and want to know. Maybe they want to add another turtle in the tank, and I think it would be better to have a male and a female. So, determine the gender of the red eared slider turtle is important too.


Actually, many pet owners dream of turtles mating, their own pets have laying eggs, and the thrill of seeing the eggs hatch to be baby turtles. If this happens, of course, is one thing. But if you are a professional of turtles breeder, it is generally not advisable to try to produce of the young without knowing its gender. But how do you know that the difference between the sexes?


In general, female red eared sliders are larger than males. A female can have a fully developed shell measures 11 inches long, but never a male red-eared sliders rarely grow more than 8 inches long. Adult females are also heavier than 4 pounds.


And what if you do not have the mature of red eader sliders turtles, how do you know? The fact is that at least up to 4 inches long, sometimes difficult to tell. Well, any way to tell is by the length of the front claws, a male red eared slider turtle usually have claws against women in relation to their size, of course. However, if your turtle is too young or too late by a growth phase, so it's not necessarily a reliable way to tell, at least not by itself.
 
Here's another thing to determine the gender : male red eared sliders are also longer and thinner tail than the females, with a small opening (vent or hole) at about half of the tail, midway between the tip and the end of the tail. Female have a short tail, and the their cloaca is closer to the base of the shell, almost under the overlap of the shell. One obvious way to tell is if the turtle lays its eggs, and yes, sometimes the female turtles lay their eggs without a male turtles to be present.
 
The males also have in-curved bellies while the females have the stomach out-curved or flat. Do not make the turtle upside-down to take a look, because that this is harmful for its health. Look the turtle's underside by lift it high enough.

Some of the above methods to determine the sex of your turtle is definitely less than others, but if the most or all of the phisical signs, pointing to one gender, then it is almost certain that you correctly identify the gender of your turtle. If you still have any doubts, and you really want to know, ask your vet next time your pet turtle in.

Attention: Wash hands with soap and water after each time you treat your turtle. Turtles are often associated with salmonella and bacteria that contaminated the disease spread a disease called salmonellosis causes owners. Each year, only the United States, turtles (and other reptiles) 74 000 known cases of transmission of salmonellosis in humans. So beware!