Determining Gender in Turtles

Many methods are used to determine the gender of a turtle:

EXAMINE TAIL:

Male Turtle	Female Turtle
Cloacae is midway down the tail The tail is longer than the female tail and has a gradual taper.	Cloacae is at the base of the tail (beneath the marginal scutes) Tail is shorter than the male tail and tapers from the base.

EXAMINE PLASTRON:

Many people try to use the concave plastron as a means of gender determination. This is a subjective practice and unless you have handled hundreds of turtles from each species in your area it is doubtful you are consistently correct.