i dont know what type of turtle i have

Question
My turtle has a brown and white stumach. I found it at Mississippi river.  i would also like to know what sex it is. I would also like to know what type it is. My turtles top is kind of rippled. (there are four ripples) He/she is 1 inch from the top of its head to its tail.

Answer
Hello Abby,

As for the identification of the turtle, can you take a picture of the turtle so I can have a little more to go off of when trying to identify it? The four "Ripples" that you mention lead me to believe that it is a type of map turtle. What state do you live in?

Does the turtle look like these? First one is a hatchling, 2nd one is an older turtle.

http://z.about.com/d/exoticpets/1/0/Y/D/1/nelson49933.jpg

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/turtles/Mississippi%20Map%20Turtle.jpg


As for the sex, because it is just a hatchling is it going to be VERY difficult if not impossible to identify the sex until the turtle is larger.

If you can give me that additional information on where you found it and a picture if possible, we'll go from there on the identification. Hopefully this helps some!