male or female ?

Hi, Diamondback terrapins are a little harder to sex than most North American turtles. The males do not have long fingernails like many other species. They have to be at least four inches before they can be positively sexed. I have been fooled before by 3.75-inch diamondbacks that I would have sworn were one sex but turned out to be another. The best way to determine the sex at four inches is to look at their tails. Males have much longer and wider tails than females and the vent on a male_Ǖ__s tail is normally an inch below the bottom of his plastron. Once they reach 5 inches it is very easy to tell the two sexes apart. Females_Ǖ__ carapaces start to develop a higher dome and the males keep a much flatter carapace. Females also develop wider and larger head at they grow and males_Ǖ__ heads stay thin and stream line. And finally when a male_Ǖ__s tail is fully developed it will be over three times the size of a female. Diamondback terrapins are a little harder to sex than most North American turtles. The males do not have long fingernails like many other species. They have to be at least four inches before they can be positively sexed. I have been fooled before by 3.75-inch diamondbacks that I would have sworn were one sex but turned out to be another. The best way to determine the sex at four inches is to look at their tails. Males have much longer and wider tails than females and the vent on a male_Ǖ__s tail is normally an inch below the bottom of his plastron. Once they reach 5 inches it is very easy to tell the two sexes apart. Females_Ǖ__ carapaces start to develop a higher dome and the males keep a much flatter carapace. Females also develop wider and larger head at they grow and males_Ǖ__ heads stay thin and stream line. And finally when a male_Ǖ__s tail is fully developed it will be over three times the size of a female. I hope this helps. Jonathan Diamondback Terrapin World http://www.diamondbackterrapin.com _Ǖ__p_Ǖ___Ǖ__