Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. I noticed a black sponge like appendage sticking out of my 1 year old spiney softshell today. When he noticed me he promply sucked it back inside his tail! Anyone know what this could be? Chris

Sounds like a penis to me.

Really? That's what I figured! Man my turtle must be hung like a porn star! It's like a third of the length of his body!

This is something that makes me so mad people get pets all the time and know not the least about them. I not mad at the one who posted the queston because they care enough to ask the question. i read every post about softshells on kingsnake I don't know how many time i've seen the same post HELP HELP SOMETHING IS COMING OUT OF MY SS TAIL. I think some one should have to take a clase when they get a pet. or a least an iq test it does not that a smart person to figure it out.

Nice looking softie you have there.

Ease up though!! I understand it's frustrating but even people could take a class I don't think that particular subject would -- excuse the expression-- POP up . As long as folks take the time to educate themselves on proper husbandry and housing requirements and all I think there is margin for a question like this.

Most folks who deal with or have dealt with turtles for a long time would be able to put 2 and 2 together BUT I wager the average person doesn't even know if a turtle has a penis.

It's better to just try and answer these questions rather than get annoyed. The dumbest question is the one that gets asked too late.

I see your point. I did not mean that people couldn’t ask stupid questions. I know that I had a lot of stupid questions when I got my ss. I was just saying it was frustrating how many times that particular question comes up. I did say in the first post that the person (who posted the question) cared enough to ask and find out what it was. It is in some way funny because every one with a male turtle probable had the same question. I’m thank full that my Soft Shell is a Female. If I think anything should be done about it, (the penis thing) it should be mentioned in care sheets more. Sorry about poor English in the first post I didn’t have much time so I had to type fast and it showed

You might want to brush up on your English skills before making fun of other people buddy.