western ornate turtles

Question
QUESTION: wondering if my ornate is male or female. did some research and says it maybe male or female. description is as follows...

shell is about 5 1/2 round in diam.,colors are of orange markings underneath the neck, forearms, and red eyes. tail is somewhat thick. ive been told shes female, but im hoping male. cant find pics on the net to compare with what I have.
also how do you tell how old?



ANSWER: "Sexing ornate box turtles can be quite difficult. Somtimes the male will have a reddish iris, but this is not always the case. Unlike the Eastern box turtles, the plastron of both males and females is flat. The males do tend to have slightly longer and thicker tails than females." (http://exoticpets.about.com/od/boxturtles/p/ornateboxt.htm)

"Sex determination for Terrapene ornata, the Western box turtle.

As in the case with male Eastern box turtles, the male Ornate box turtle usually has a different body coloration then the female. The heads of mature males are usually some shade of green and their legs have bright orange or red scales. The females have brown heads and their legs have yellow scales. The eyes of male are red and the females are brown." (http://boxturtlesite.info/malefemale.html)

Aging- unless you see it hatch, you cannot be sure of its age. If it is 5.5" front to back measured in a straight line, it is an adult, at least about 5 years old.


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

QUESTION: thanks for your response. my female ornate is of olive green and with brown eyes however when I did the comparison
of the plastron they both seemed flat. the ornate in question does have red iris's and when when turned the tail did come out and there is a small opening near the end of the tail. I've had this turtle for about a yr the new one is def a female. both are active,healthy and eating well. the ornate in question was given to me, and has adapted to his environment. I had him outside during the warm weather and now is living indoors with the new ornate in a terrarium I have set up with a UV light. female is of solid color and is about 3 yrs old as I was told by prev owner.  

Answer
The reason I pasted the quotes is because you asked about a species that is generally tricky to sex accurately. A lot of keepers have been tricked by these.

The male's longer tale with the opening closer to the tip compared to the female's shorter tail with the opening closer to the base sometimes works- but we are only talking about fractions of an inch.

Give http://www.boxturtlesite.info a try for cares. Ornates are also rather famous for not doing well for most people in the long run.

If the female is 5.5 inches Straight-line Carapace Length (SCL- front to back, in a straight line, not a curved line that follows the shell), then she is probably older than 3 years. If the measurement is taken over the curve- Curved Carapace Length (CCL), then 5.5" is about right for 3-4 years old.

Of course, all of these average measurements are invalid for long-term captives that have had unpredictable diets and cares.