 | Is my turtle a
boy or a girl? |
Similar to how captive RES grow at a faster rate, they also mature sexually faster than wild RES. As previously mentioned,
females are physically larger and have a smaller tail. Males have longer, thicker tails and longer front claws with the cloaca closer to the tip of the tail.
 |
| Too small to tell! |
In general, the sexual maturity of a RES is mainly based on its size. You have to wait for these characteristics to develop before you can determine their gender and
you cannot easily distinguish the sex of a RES that is less than 4 inches in length. The rough estimations for captive RES are: 2-4 years for males with a SCL of 4" and 3-5 years for females with a SCL of around 5". In cases of excessive overfeeding, sexual maturity will be reached faster.
Older male RES might have other features that may be visible. Males will have a slightly longer nose/snout area. The end of the male plastron may also be partially curved inwards or appear concave. This allows the male some stability during mating. Both these features are too subtle to be a reliable factor for sexing young RES.
