Box Turtle Sexing...

Samba · 06-07-04, 02:01 PM

Hello everyone... I recently aquired another rescue, a box turtle. Former owner thought it was a male, but I am confused.

"Mike" has the red and orange colorings of a male, however, the plastron isn't concave (which would convince me for sure). I took it to a trusted friend, who was equally unsure of it's sex. I would post photos of Mike, but I don't know how to shrink them.. if anyone is curious I can e-mail photos to them.

Is there a way to sex Mike without using x-rays or more intrusive methods?

Thanks, guys!

Linds · 06-07-04, 02:42 PM

How big are your pics? You can upload pics as large as 250k to your account and post them from there, attachements are too small. There are also a lot of programs you can use to shrink them such as Adobe and many paint-type programs.

ed17 · 06-07-04, 05:37 PM

Males usually have red eyes, and females usually have brown. I hope this helps, good luck.

Ed

Samba · 06-08-04, 03:50 PM

Yes, Mike has a deep golden orange eyes, so that too is a little confusing. Is it common for male box turtles to lack the concave plastrons for some reason? I am confused...

Linds - I don't have access to a program that would shrink my photos... I use a Sony digicam that recieves floppy disks directly... the smallest size I can set the photos to is 640 x480 or something of that nature.

Anyways, thanks for your help... I hope that I will find out what Mike is for sure over the weekend... =)

Holy Mackerel · 06-16-04, 10:27 PM

Hey,

There are a variety of morphological signs sex to box turtles.

You've already checked for the concave plastron, and the colour of the eyes.

Since that didn't help, check the following two things.

Males on their hind legs have much shorter, thicker, highly curved claws. Females have longer, more straight, thinner claws.

Males have tails with a thick base and the cloaca is usually located at the edge of the carapace or beyond its cover. Females have thinner tails at the base, and the cloaca is generally located within the cover of the carapace.

I hope these can help you a bit. If you can get some pics up, go for it.

Best of luck,
Steve

Tim and Julie B · 06-19-04, 12:06 AM

Eyes, legs and nails are all inconclusive. I have females with red eyes males with normal eyes. The butt is a good way to tell. Some time the concave in the shell is not that noticable in some males. The best way you can tell if it is a male is to put it in with other turtles. If it tries to hump the first thing that moves it is a male.

! If you want to e mail me a pic I will do my best to figure it out. TB