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Our turtle has grown up substantialy lately, we recently noticed that the back of its shell dips more than we imagined it should, we were also wondering now that's a year old if there's any way we can tell for sure if it's male or female.

Any other constructive input about the turtle is welcome.

Thank you in advance!

he's a male......The shell looks very deformed

You're right, the back of his shell doesn't look quite right. Could you describe his setup and diet?

He's definitely male, I can tell by that big tail!
He's got some very nice colours in his shell.

Looks like he needs to shed his baby scutes really bad. Do you have UVB for him?

Definitely a "he", the tail tells all. (lol) He might end up showing off his "junk" (lotsa people on here call it that) soon, so, be warned... It scares many.

Sometimes though, no matter the diet, they are kind of born that way. Still, I'm sure with a proper diet (if he doesn't already have one), and some good sheds, that dip might slowly disappear after a few years. You can correct most issues with a turtle's shell through care, but the corrections never show up overnight.

He eats a large variety of foods, including tuna, romain lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, carrots, apples, and bell pepper. We feed him every night with portions about as big as his head. We do 70% meat and 30% vegetables mostly because he turns his nose up at the vegetables.

He has a large enough tank for his size (calculated with the site's tank calculator lol) and he uses his basking area on a regular basis. As of now, we are shopping for a UV lamp, but we take him outside to the backyard. We're pretty sure he doesn't get enough UV light right now but we're working to solve the problem.

Thanks for the replies!

Dont forget calcium.

A great source is cuttlebone. It can be found in the bird section of almost any pet store (and even some grocery stores).


You should also pick up some reptomin at walmart, if you are near one. Ignore the directions, and feed him as many pellets as would fit in his head if it were hollow (ignoring the neck).