Male or Female, what's my age?

[AprilOneilTurtle]

I'm trying to get familiar with this forum, so far it's been very helpful!

In the pictures, I used flash on my camera, she took a dip in the warm water bucket pool after along day of me being away from work, she loved it!

So here's to why I think my box turtle is a female (btw, i just adopted her on Thanksgiving Day from another family member.)

She doesn't have much bright colors, neither the red eyes (but that could be a myth), her tail is quite short as well.

I really want to know what is her approx age range as well.

You guys on here have mentioned she's an Eastern terrapene carolina carolina Box Turtle

Let me know your thoughts/opinions

 

[Yvonne G]

Looks female to me.

 

[ColleenT]

post the underside of her tail.

 

[AprilOneilTurtle]

post the underside of her tail.

Will do when I get home!

 

[coloto]

And check if the plastron is flat or convex

 

[JoesMum]

And check if the plastron is flat or convex

Concave not convex. Males of some species develop a concave plastron

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Tess Cook literally wrote the book on box turtles, and her website includes good information resources and links.

This is the page on determining the sex of your box turtle. It's one of the only places I've seen that mentions what to look for in the claws to help differentiate between genders.
http://boxturtlesite.info/malefemale.html

 

[Pastel Tortie]

I agree with @ColleenT about needing a picture of the underside of the tail. That's the most reliable indicator.

I agree with @Yvonne G too. Right now, based on first impressions from the pictures provided, I'm leaning towards the boxie being female. Some boxies have a sweet "girl" face to hint at gender, but admittedly, some grow out of their baby faces and end up being male.

 

[coloto]

Concave not convex. Males of some species develop a concave plastron

It depends on from where you see the plastron. If you see it horizontally, is convex. If you turn down the turtle and look the plastron from a cenital view, yes it's concave ;-)

 

[coloto]

It depends on from where you see the plastron. If you see it horizontally, is convex. If you turn down the turtle and look the plastron from a cenital view, yes it's concave ;-)

Upside down, sorry

 

[AprilOneilTurtle]

Thank you everyone for your help. Most likely she's a female, she has such a sweet far, she is a sweetheart! I haven't taken a pic of what her plastron yet, I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable, but I will try to do it soon and post to get more info.

 

[ColleenT]

the underside of her tail. not her plastron.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Thank you everyone for your help. Most likely she's a female, she has such a sweet far, she is a sweetheart! I haven't taken a pic of what her plastron yet, I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable, but I will try to do it soon and post to get more info.

If you can find a clear acrylic container with a flat bottom, or even a clear glass pie plate, something you can put her on and look at and photograph her from underneath, that might do the trick. But it has to be as clear as possible (think window pane) and not too thick. You don't want the container to distort the view.

Another option is to hold your boxie in your hand, with her back end hanging off the side closest to you, and try to do it that way.

Yet another option is to set a can with a fairly small diameter on a sturdy flat surface, and set your boxie on top of the can. The idea is to have her plastron balancing on the can, but have her legs, head and tail hanging off the can (in the air). This is the method many people use to weigh their turtles and tortoises, because many do not fit IN a container, nor do they want to stay put on a scale long enough to get a decent reading.