Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have finally decided on names for my babies.

I am still not sure which sex they are, but I am hoping they are both male (so they stay smaller)

I can tell them apart by the length of their tails, and one has a few greener spots on the back.

So I am naming the one with the longer tail, and no green spots on the back Austin

And the one with the shorter tail, and greener spots, I am naming Squirt : )

So Austin and Squirt are now part of my family.

Click below to see their pics. I still can't tell them apart from a far lol So if they are basking, I can't tell which is which, since they jet into the water before I can get there.

Robyn
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2 Texas Maps, Austin and Squirt (males hopefully - born in Oct '03)
Oh, and my psycho cat - Snickers
See my babies I got on 2/3/04 at http://community.webshots.com/user/robyn5678

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Perhaps the best way to sex most basking turtles is the size of their claws as adults, but from my personal experiences, I have found another way that always seems to work for me, tho I dont know how scientific it is. The image below shows a (very) rough photoshop drawing of the underside of 2 turtles. Note the location of the cloacal opening on the female is very close to the shell, whereas the male is much farther out. I do know that is how to sex common snapping turtles, and I believe it applies to most other aquatic turtles anyway.

Reason is that the male wraps his tail under the females during copulation so the extra distance allows him to get all the way under hers.

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Thanks for that info. Is that for when they are adults? And when are turtles considered adults?

Mine are only 5 months old.

Robyn

It has worked for me at any age, tho with hatchlings being so small, its sometimes hard to tell. Its always easier if you have a male and a female so you have something to compare it to. I have determined, using this method, that the 2" RES im watching is female. Its really the best way to guess when they are young.
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