Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We've acquired a four-inch "musk" turtle. It was the lone representative of its species at a pet store, kept with a couple of similar-sized red-eared sliders.

How can we tell "its" sex?

Is it safe to keep the musk turtle and a red-eared slider in the same tank? We are keeping them separate at the moment (we always keep new arrivals separate until we know how healthy they are). In the future, though, it would be more convenient to keep the two turtles in the same tank, if it's safe.

Thanks.
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Scott Robert Ladd
1.0.0 Iguana (Rex)
1.0.0 African Giant Plated Lizard (Clyde)
1.0.0 Uro mali (Wizard)
0.1.0 Corn Snake (Amber)
0.1.0 Red-Eared Sliders (Emerald)
0.0.1 Musk Turtle (Sausage)
1.0.0 Blue Jay (Feed Me)
0.1.0 Parakeet (Zeus)
1.4.0 Homo sapiens (Scott, Maria, Elora, Becky, Tessa)
blog: http://chaoticcoyote.blogspot.com/

Keep different species together is never a good idea. For one thing, their water requirements are different. Also, the RES will get much larger then the musk.

When sexing, look where the vent is. If its before the tail its usually a female, and if its after the end of the shell its most likely a male. This method isnt a 100%, but works most of the time.
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0.1 Red Eared Slider, 0.0.1 Common Snapper, 1.0 Bearded Dragon and a 55gal Native Fish Tank. I use to have a collection of Leopard Geckos that I bred, but I have sold them all off.

Sorry I didnt put that right the 1st time...When sexing, look where the vent is. If its before the end of the shell its usually a female, and if its after the end of the shell its most likely a male. This method isnt a 100%, but works most of the time.
There...Hope this helps
Chris
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0.1 Red Eared Slider, 0.0.1 Common Snapper, 1.0 Bearded Dragon and a 55gal Native Fish Tank. I use to have a collection of Leopard Geckos that I bred, but I have sold them all off.

Males of these guys usually have HUGE tails, so if you didn't almost drop the turtle from shock when you looked at the tail, it's probably a female.

Katrina