Sexing Red Ear Sliders, Cooters, and Other Semi-Aquatic Turtles

Age:

Tail Length & Vent (cloacal opening) Placement

Male

Male turtles tend to have much longer tails and the cloacal opening (the hole in their tail by the 'thick part' that they poop, pee, and in a females case lay eggs from) is located further away from the turtle's body.

Male Tail on a 4 inch 13 Month Old Red Ear Slider


Tail on a 12 inch Adult Male FL River Cooter


Female

Female turtles tend to have little short tails with the cloacal opening much closer to the body between their legs.

Female Tail on a 3.5 inch Red Ear Slider


Female Tail on a 13 inch Adult FL River Cooter

Nail Length

Male

The nails on the front feet of a male turtle tend to be a LOT longer than they would appear to be on a female. This doesn't mean "a little bit long". It means, when someone looks at them they say "WOW it's Freddy Krugar reincarnated!"

Front foot nails of a wild adult male FL River Cooter

Note the front foot on your right of this 13 month old 4inch male Red Ear Slider

Female

Female turtles tend to have normal sized nails. They certainly still have claws capable of scratching but they're not quite as pronounced as the elongated claws of the male.

Look carefully to see the nails on this 3 inch female Red Ear Slider (her front foot is on your right)

Again look carefully at the front foot of this large adult female River Cooter

Normal nails and a cute stubby tail, usually means it's a girl.

Really abnormally long nails and an equally long tail usually means it's a boy.

Last Updated Wednesday, September 13 2006 @ 10:01 EDT