How to determine the age and sex of the turtle

Turtle - a great option for the first acquaintance of a child with a pet. The turtle needs minimal care, there are no problems with food, vaccinations and maintenance. However, despite the apparent simplicity, turtles have one very important problem - it is very difficult to determine the sex and age. These indicators are important not only for the official presentation of the turtle to family members, but also in order to hope for the birth of small turtles, correctly calculate the period of intensive development and the period of hibernation. How to find out the sex and age of the turtle on your own can be found in our article.

Why is it difficult to know the sex and age of the turtle?

The turtle is a species of reptile that can live for more than 120 years. This is quite a long time, since one domestic turtle, with proper care, can easily survive not only its own owners, but also their children and even grandchildren.A turtle can be kept in captivity under the simplest conditions, and there will be no problems with its breeding. It is also interesting that up to a certain age it is completely impossible to know the sex and exact age of a pet of this species. Sexual development begins only after reaching 6-8 years, and the distinctive signs appear even after this time period.

According to scientific research, the turtle heads the list of animals that have not changed their appearance at all in the process of evolution. What they were in the past millennium and even at the beginning of the era, they remained so at the present time. Under natural conditions, this species of reptiles multiplied and lived on the basis of natural impulses - the problem of age and sex is only worried about the owners, this indicator is absolutely not important for the turtles themselves.

People who breed domestic turtles are very anxious to acquire a pet of exactly the sex that is needed. In order to be fully prepared before buying, you need to deal with current issues.

We determine independently the age of the turtle

Circumference on the shell. In the people, the most famous method for determining the age of a tortoise is the number of relief circles on its shell. It's like a tree saw - the more circles, the greater the age. The only feature is that a tortoise in one calendar year may have about 2-3 circles, so it is worth considering this factor when calculating the number of years lived. In young people, the particular relief of the shell is very clear, in adults, the elderly - it becomes almost flat, smooth. Pay attention to this factor when buying an animal.

If you want to more accurately determine the age using this method, count the number of grooves on several scales, determine the arithmetic average and divide by 2.5 (the average is indicative of the appearance of a circle for 1 year). The result will be as close as possible to the real age of your turtle.

The length of the shell. There is another method for determining age - measuring the length of the shell. However, this option is not always able to present a 100% result. Of course, the tortoise shell grows throughout life, but this process is also influenced by the quality of food, conditions of detention, other external signs.So, in 1 year the shell grows to 6 cm, in 2 - up to 8, in 3 - up to 10, and so on. As a result, it turns out that every year the turtle grows by 2 cm. This fact can be taken into account as an additional one, but using it as the main one is not rational.

How to determine the sex of a turtle

Before embarking on a practical experiment to determine the sex of a turtle, it is worth noting one indispensable fact: to know which floor your turtle belongs to is possible only when you reach 6-8 years of age, with a shell size of 10-12 cm. This is important! Since at an earlier age you will not see any external features of the physique, and the internal organs are completely inaccessible to the eyes, as they are hidden under a firm cover of the shell.

Here are a few methods for determining the sex of a turtle. All of them are based on any one of the signs. However, for the most effective diagnosis of gender, it is worthwhile to use not only one method, but to apply them together, in conjunction with other methods. Tip! It will be easier to figure out this parameter if you begin to compare several things with each other.

1. In males, claws are longer and thicker than in females (this is due to the fact that during mating the boy-turtle should cling to the shell of the girl).
2. In males, the plastron (abdominal part of the shell) is concave, in females - flat - it is necessary to keep it on the shell.
3. The color of the eyes of females is brighter than that of males - it is necessary to attract a partner.
4. Males-turtles have a long and narrow shell shape, and females - short and round.
5. The view of the cloaca - in males resembles a longitudinal line, in females - the image of an asterisk.
6. You can also determine the sex of a turtle by behavioral signs - the males are more active, constantly come into contact with females, flirt, bite the neck, nod their heads.
7. The female has a short tail, and its base is thin. In the male, everything is exactly the opposite - a broad base, thick and long tail.

If you have reviewed your pet in all the above methods, but have not determined the sex, with an accuracy of 100%, you can always use the help of a professional veterinarian who, thanks to special laboratory tests, will provide the most reliable result.

It is worthwhile to emphasize once again the fact that independent determination of the sex and age of a tortoise is too complicated an exercise that requires special knowledge, anatomy study.If you decide to rely solely on your own strength, do not forget to seek further advice from a veterinarian - so you will avoid further trouble with breeding offspring.

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