How do tortoises judge male and female? How to judge a tortoise male and female

The male and female of the turtle are judged by the length of its tail (long is male, short is female), or its ventral carapace (concave is male, flat is female), or its reproductive hole (beyond the dorsal carapace is male, vice versa). However, the above judgment methods are accurate only by sub-adult or adult, and if it is a juvenile, the above criteria should not be used. In addition, the juveniles can be identified by comparison, that is, if the reactions of all aspects are different, the probability of a male and female pair is relatively increased.

Because males are naturally more active, both are placed on the ground at the same time, and the first to move is usually male. The anal shield can also be compared, with the ventral carapace closest to the tail. If the angle of the opening is small, it is usually female, and vice versa.

In the past, a master taught me a method to identify people who are difficult to judge gender from their appearance, for your reference. It is to grasp the tortoise's dorsal carapace from above with your hands, so that the tortoise's limbs are suspended in the air, and if its tail is hooked downward and forward (as it was during mating), it is almost certainly male. Box turtles are not applicable.

Here's how to tell the male and female turtles:1. Look at the body type, it is mainly used on turtles of the same age, male turtles are a little thin, and female turtles are larger.

2. Looking at the tail, generally the tail of the male is thicker and longer, and the tail of the female turtle is very thin and a little shorter.

3. Look at the nails, the tail of the male turtle is slightly longer, and the tail of the female turtle is shorter.

4. Looking at the cloacal pores, the cloaca of males is generally separated from the ventral carapace by a little distance, and the shape is square. The cloaca of the female is very close to the ventral carapace, just at the posterior edge of the ventral carapace, and inside, the shape is rounded.

5. Look at the dorsal carapace, under normal circumstances, the female tortoise carapace is very short and wide. Males are different, they have long dorsal carapaces and are somewhat narrow.

Observe the shape of the tortoise's abdominal carapace. Some turtles don't like to be touched and may try to bite, so grab the turtle's tail and don't let it bite you, gently turn the turtle over so you can see the belly carapace. The ventral carapace of a male turtle is slightly concave (curved inward), while the ventral carapace of a female turtle is flat.

When the turtle reaches a certain weight or begins to mature, it begins to have obvious differences, mainly manifested in the male turtle has a longer tail, a thicker caudal stalk, and the cloaca hole is located at or outside the margin shield after the tail is straightened, and the male of the same age turtle is smaller and flattened; The female has a shorter tail, a thinner caudal peduncle, and a cloacal pore located at the posterior margin of the margin shield or endoscopy after the tail is straightened, and its individual is larger than the male and more hypertrophied.

Another way to identify the turtle is to touch the front and rear limbs of the turtle with your fingers and squeeze it into the shell, or apply force to the front and back of the abdominal carapace to make the abdominal carapace tightly closed, so that its breathing is temporarily impaired.

Observe the shape of the turtle's ventral carapace. Some turtles don't like to be touched and can be bitten, so they grab the turtle's tail, don't bite, and gently turn the turtle over to see the belly carapace. The male has a slightly concave ventral carapace (curved inward), while the female has a flat ventral carapace.

To determine the sex of a tortoise, it can be considered from the following aspects:

1.Exterior features.

Female tortoises are usually larger, with a flatter dorsal shell, a broader belly, and a shorter tail. Whereas, male tortoises are smaller in size, with a rounded arched back shell, a narrower belly, and a longer tail.

2.Claw shape.

Male tortoises have thicker claws with horny bumps on their front paws, while females have more slender claws with no horny bumps on their front paws.

3.Bulging abdomen.

Female tortoises have a distinct bulge in the center of their abdomen, which is used to store their eggs. Whereas male tortoises do not have such bulges.

4.Tail shape.

Female tortoises have shorter and thicker tails, while male tortoises have longer and thinner tails.

The above are some methods to determine the sex of a turtle, but it is not absolute, some turtles are more difficult to judge, and the most reliable method is through DNA identification.