All Turtles Message Board

shai631 · Level 3 Joined: 14 Apr 2002 Posts: 245

Hi people!
I have two 1 year old RES turtles (don\'t know the sex yet, although I suspect male & female...hopefully you\'ll help me out after reading this), and I recently picked up the smaller of the two and saw something black poking out of the hole in its tail. At first I thought that it was feces, but then I noticed that it was popping out & then going back in. Does this mean that I have a little guy on my hands or is something wrong with it digestive-wise? They haven\'t been eating as much as they used to (I think it\'s cause it\'s winter).
Also, I have another turtle that is a little bit bigger & even though they have similar tails, the other one hasn\'t popped out it\'s black thingy...does that make it the female or maybe a slow developer?
Please forgive the length of this message but I\'ve never owned turtles before, and after reading a few horror stories on this site, I figure it\'s better to ask...

Wu-Gwei · Level 3 Joined: 18 Oct 2002 Posts: 194

If they are one years old, I\'d say the bigger one is a female and the smaller one male. In a couple of years you will see the male\'s tale thicken and get longer than the female. Then the fornt forenails will grow to be longer than females. Usually the size is the easiest way to tell for younger RES, but that may not be 100% though. It\'s an educated guess. Some females are smaller than others and some males are bigger than others. There are always exceptions... look at the different sizes in people - lol. Smile

Cheers,
JJ Smile

Guest · Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2002 11:06 pm Post subject: Re: Male \"Member\"?

I have two RES that are probably 1 year old as well. They measure four inches (shell bottom or 7 1/2 inch around narrow part) About 3 months ago they decided to display the same black member from their anus. I thought at first that one was a male and the other female as they did the courtship thing with their front claws, flickering like crazy. One day the the black member came out and was at least 1 1/2 inches mushrooming as it came out. Shocked as I was, I was even more convinced Edith (Eat it) was a male. Why else would a member come out while titalating with the other turt? Well the smaller turtle started poking his member out shortly after. I am so confused. They both have very long claws but one, Edith, has a huge thick tail and the member pokes out quite often. My guess is for now that they are both males or they both have a vile intestinal problem except they are healthy in every other way. Anyone else experience the humongous black member shooting out of their rear?

shai631 · Level 3 Joined: 14 Apr 2002 Posts: 245

Hi!
Eat, my situation is exactly as you described, except that I haven\'t seen the other turt\'s \"member\"...frankly after I saw the first, I wasn\'t exactly going to go looking for the second. I was wondering now though, does the female secrete oil from her shell while mating? Lately it seems whenever I pet the bigger turtle, the shell is oily, but then when I touch the other turtle, \"his\" (?) shell is normal.
Anyone experiencing this?

JPEG · Guest Joined: 22 May 2003 Posts: 4

Wow you guys had the same problem I\'m having now with my turtles. that black thing comming of its Anus. I was concrened it might be a parasite becasue I thought they were not mature enought yet. I have a male and a female. well I\'m glad to know it\'s not a parasite. lol My turtle\'s packin\'!!