Red-skinned turtles are big individual women.In aquariums, they love to live alone. But of course, many people would like to keep two reptiles at the same time in their house - a male and a female. And accordingly, such lovers of domestic animals are often asked including the question of how to determine the sex of the red-eared turtle.
Biological features
Red-eared turtles live less than land turtles.However, they can please their masters with their presence long enough. At home, their lifespan is about 20-25 years. Accordingly, puberty in these reptiles comes pretty late.
Males redheads may begin to pay attentionon females about one year old. But puberty in boys-turtles usually occurs only in 3-5 years. Females with this grow up even later. Turtle girls ripen in about 5-7 years.
Таким образом, тем, кто интересуется, как to determine the sex of the tortoiseshell, it is worth waiting for the onset of this particular age of your pet. It will be possible to say with accuracy who lives in the home aquarium only when the length of the reptile's shell reaches about 7-10 cm.
How to determine the sex of a red-eared turtle: differences between males and females
In order to find out exactly who exactly lives in the house, first of all you should carefully examine the pet. The differences between male and female red-eared turtles are the following:
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girls are usually bigger than boys;
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the claws of a male are much longer than that of a female;
- the tail of the boy is longer than that of the girl;
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the male on the plastron has a small notch.
Big size turtles, females are needed in orderso that it is easy to set aside the number of eggs necessary for the continuation of the species. To grow the claws of too-red girls too much need not. The male, however, they are necessary in order to keep the girlfriend by the shell during mating.
Approximately for the same purpose, turtles need a recess on the plastron. With its presence, it is easier for males to stay on the shell of a female during love games.
Main feature
How to determine the sex of a red-eared turtle byappearance is thus understandable. But it is possible to find out who is in front of you, male or female, in another way - according to the location and shape of the cloaca of a reptile.
In female eagles, this organ is located closer to the root of the tail. At the same time it has a stellate shape. In males, the cesspool is located near the end of the tail. In this case, the shape is different.
Reptile behavior
To distinguish an adult male from a female by externalfeatured, therefore, will be relatively straightforward. But how to determine the sex of a red-eared turtle by behavior? In this case, the focus should be primarily on the degree of aggressiveness of the pet.
Turtle boys are usually much more active andMoving girls. For example, when trying to pull an adult male out of an aquarium, he will most likely try to reach the owner's hand and bite with his beak. In any case, the boy will try to escape and try to escape very actively.
The turtle-girl, pulled out of the aquarium,most likely, it will pull its head into the shell and will simply hang in the master's hand, waiting for her to be released back. Red-headed females are usually not particularly active and especially aggressive.
How to determine the sex of a small red-eared turtle
To distinguish in the pet store an adult male from a female,so easy. Small turtles for keeping at home are worth buying one by one. To determine the sex of such reptiles, unfortunately, is almost impossible. Later, when the pet grows up, and it becomes clear who he really is - a male or a female, it will be possible to get him an additional friend or girlfriend.
If you wish, of course, you can take a chance and buyfor the aquarium at once two small individuals. In this case, in order to increase the chances that different-sex reptiles live in the house, first of all it is worth paying attention to the behavior of future pets.
So how to determine the sex of small red-earedturtles? As already mentioned, boy reptiles are usually more active and mobile than girls. If the bug tries to run away from the net or the hand of the seller who is trying to catch it, this may be the male. If the reptile hid and hid its head and legs under the shell - there is a rather high probability that it is a girl.
What conditions should create a pair of turtles
So we figured out how to determine gender andage for red-eared turtles. Pick up for keeping at home an adult male and female will not make. But to get offspring from red-haired women in captivity, even if guaranteed individuals of opposite sex live in an aquarium, it will still be quite problematic. Eggs such turtles lay not in water, but on land, burying in the sand.
But be that as it may, the conditions of a pair of turtles inAquarium, of course, should be created worthy. In this case, a container for keeping reptiles should be purchased with a volume of at least 150 liters. For each turtle at the same time you need to provide your own carp on suckers with a stand. Above the rafts, be sure to place the incandescent lamp to create a comfortable temperature and a UV lamp.
If the owners of turtles still countto get offspring, in addition to the aquarium, you will need to put a cuvette with sand or peat. To establish such a capacity should be so that the female could easily climb into it. Lay eggs of red-haired girls are allowed to be incubated in the ordinary chicken apparatus at a temperature of 22-30 ° C.