Usually the question of how to determine the age and sex of the red-bellied turtle occurs when you want to buy a pair for an already existing individual and try to get offspring, because you need to pick up a turtle not only able to reproduce, but also the opposite sex.
How to find out the age of the red-bellied tortoise?
Determining the age of the red-bellied tortoise is much easier with an external examination than deciding the question of its gender. The definition of sex usually occurs on the shell. The main ways how to determine the age of the red-bellied tortoise on the shell, there are two. The first is based on the calculation of concentric rings, formed as the animal grows (this is similar to determining the age of the tree along the trunk of the trunk). Usually 1-2 concentric rings correspond to one year of the turtle's life. In addition, as the color grows, the color of the shell becomes less bright, the red spots on the head turn pale too.
The second way to determine the age of the shell is associated with an analysis of its size. There are average turtle growth rates and in 1 year the shell length is about 6 cm, in 2 years - 9 cm for the female and 8 cm for the male, in 3 years - 14 and 10 cm respectively, in 4 years - 16 and 12 cm, in 5 years old - 18 and 14 cm, at 6 years old - 20 and 17 cm (age 5-6 years - optimal for the beginning of reproduction). On average, red-bellied turtles live 30-35 years, and their maximum size reaches 30 cm.
How to determine the sex of the red-bellied turtle?
There are three main ways to determine the sex for a red-bellied tortoise: on the shell, along the tail and over the claws. How to determine the sex of the red-bellied turtle on the shell, depends on the analysis of the shape of the posterior lower part of it. In the male it has a concave appearance, since it is this form that facilitates mating, the female has a more rounded and flat end of the shell.
Determining the floor by tail is one of the most accurate. It is believed that in males the tail is thicker at the base, and toward the tip sharply narrows and ends with a pointed corner. The female tail is more uniform in thickness and has a more flat and rounded tip.
To judge the field of the red-bellied turtle can also be based on the shape of the claws. The male usually has very long and pointed at the ends, as well as bent claws, the female is content with shorter, rounded nails. However, this last sign can bring inexperienced breeders, since in the conditions of life in the aquarium the claws and the male and female can easily grind about the stones and recognize the sex of the animal will not be so simple.