Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it true it takes four to five years to determine the sex? We have a year old RES, who we thought was a girl because it grew so fast and a friend said she looked like her female. Anyway since it turned 1 last month, her tail grew and her poop is noticable coming out near the tip of the tail. Also the front claws are longer then the back which is a male factor. Everything is so confusing and we now think she is a male. Can anyone help?
Also Clue eats only pellets and will not try anything else. We read somewhere that dog food and vegetables are necessary for their diet. Clue only eats when the food is floating. Does anyone have any ideas?
Many Many thanks

with his vent beyond the carapace & the long claws sounds like a boy.re.dogfood.i tried dog fud years ago and deceided that it was a bad idea because of the mess it makes in the tank(a floating rim of fat around the waters edge.yuck!)then i read about a sliders protien/fat general food requirements and looked at a bag of dog food.way off.dog/cat food is for dogs/cats.try fresh greens like romaine lettuce,swiss chard,bok choy cabbage,pears,cucumbers,red worms or small night crawlers,well fed crickets,fat head minnows,wax worms,and wigglers(mayfly larva from a bait store)
p.s. try a soft banana nut gushy but not green either.

Generally, it's size and not age that determines when you can ID the gender. About four inches is when you can tell if a slider is male or female.

Katrina