baby mississippi sliders

Question
QUESTION: i want to know how old my turtle is?? and the sex of it?? how do i find it out??

ANSWER: Hi Randi,

Unless you know the hatch date there's no absolute way to determine age.  If you have a hatchling (baby), it's probably quite young.  Look for an egg tooth--a small bump on the upper beak.  If you see this, your turtle is likely less than two months old and may be only a few weeks old.  You can't sex turtles until they're mature, so you'll have to wait until your turtle is quite a bit bigger to know what sex it is.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you very much and now that i know that when there older can can i tell

Answer
Hi Randi,

Here's a link to some pictures that will help you sex your turtle when it's older.  The longer nails on the male would be the first and most obvious clue (if it does turn out to be male).  Generally you have to wait longer for the tail differences to show.

http://www.picolio.com/staticpages/index.php/AquaticTurtleSex