Is my box turtle a boy or girl?

[Bbcatcher]

Hello all-

I thought my box turtle was male, but now I am not too sure. The concavity in its plastron is not as defined as in other pictures I have seen, and its eyes are not fully red like many websites suggest it should be.

Any thoughts?

EDIT: Sorry, pictures were tiny

 

[diamondbp]

Looks female but would need more pictures to confirm

 

[Bbcatcher]

Sure thing! Any specific shot you'd like to see?

 

[lutinorob]

look like a female

 

[Yvonne G]

Looks female to me, but a shot of the back feet including the tail would tell for sure.

 

[Bbcatcher]

The turtle has been digging a lot. Is there a chance she's gravid? What exactly should I look for?

 

[diamondbp]

if she is digging with her hind feet then you should expect eggs soon provided the substrate is good enough for eggs. As Yvonne said a picture of the back feet and tail area would confirm the sex but I'm pretty positive it's a female.

 

[Bbcatcher]

I'm not sure whether she's (assuming it is female) digging with front or back legs, I just see a lot of holes. When I get home today I'll take more pictures.

 

[Bbcatcher]

Here are more pictures of the hind legs and the tail.

 

[Yvonne G]

Looks female to me, however the tail is pretty long. What do the rest of you think?

 

[turtlebuddies]

Female!!

 

[Bbcatcher]

Ok so I've caught her digging. It looks like she's digging with her front feet but then puts her butt up into the hole. Still no eggs but is this normal laying behavior?

 

[lisa127]

You mean she backs up into the hole so her butt is in the hole and her head is sticking out? That is just normal boxie behavior. That is how they are comfortable. Not laying behavior IMO.

 

[Bbcatcher]

You mean she backs up into the hole so her butt is in the hole and her head is sticking out? That is just normal boxie behavior. That is how they are comfortable. Not laying behavior IMO.

That's just how I caught her this morning. I have seen a bunch of holes in her enclosure so I'm not sure what all she's doing

 

[lisa127]

Digging is normal boxie behavior. How long have you had her?

 

[Bbcatcher]

Digging is normal boxie behavior. How long have you had her?

Almost 2 months. She's never done it before though

 

[lisa127]

I honestly wouldn't worry about it. It's normal for box turtles.

 

[Bbcatcher]

I honestly wouldn't worry about it. It's normal for box turtles.

I'm not worried; just want to make sure I'm prepared in case she is gravid.

 

[StarSapphire22]

I don't know enough about boxies to sex them...I just wanted to say "she" has a cute little face and tushy!

 

[Saleama]

So many variables and with easterns, they can have characteristics of both. You see tons of posts about male easterns that suddenly laid an egg and females that suddenly flash, lol. For nstance, female easterns can have red eyes and curved back nails just like males. This one looks like a female with some male traits. The tail is long but looks like the female " * " instead of the male " ! ".