Most of the time I can tell if something is a boy or a girl.  Well, I live in NYC, so like 85% of the time, really. But, say I were on a game show and someone brought out a tank of two cute turtles and said, “Tell me which one is the boy and which one is the girl,”  I’d be up a creek. That is, unless the Mister was wearing his gender defining blue shirt and tie and the Misses a cute pink tutu.

So, how do you tell the difference? How do you know if your turtle is a mighty man or all woman? Apparently, it’s really simple…if you’re a slowpoke aficionado. If you’re not, try these investigative tips on for size.

Male Turtles have:

• a flat or concave plastron (better for fitting on top the female during breeding…rowr)
• the opening (cloaca) about 2/3 from the shell towards the tip of the tail
• long claws on their front legs (this helps them grip onto their mate…double rowr)
• often have larger/fatter tails than females
• typically have redder eyes

Female Turtles have:

• a flat or convex plastron (more room for egg babies!)
• the cloaca is closer to the shell
• shorter claws than males
• smaller tails
• typically have eyes that are more brown in hue

It can actually take years for the difference to develop and it’s really difficult to tell when they are young babies, so don’t be afraid to just name your terrapin something like Sam or Jamie just to prevent any type of gender confusion when they are older.

Image:  sheriffmitchell