0

Someone gave me a baby turtle. I'm not sure if they have been taking care of it. I need to know if it's a male or female?

Turtle Sleeping

Also, when I placed it in water it just floated. So I took it out and layed it on the dock and it's sleeping with it's legs sticking up, lol. Any concerns?

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    if it is a male or female you could see if the turtle is 5 years or older. How old it is, you could assume by its size. The size depends on the kind of turtle and if it was fed more/right/less amount of food. This you can assume by the growing-marks aroung the scales of the belly. And if you want to do them both in one tank, you do both no favour. The most aquatic turtles are loners, meeting only to make babies. The rest of the year they fight to defend their area. Maybe you could, as long as they are children, but then you need two places for basking.
    – Allerleirauh
    Commented Nov 5, 2020 at 4:27
  • 1
    If you have concerns about the health of your pet, then see a vet instead of waiting for guesses of strangers from the internet...
    – Allerleirauh
    Commented Nov 5, 2020 at 4:29
  • 1
    if I have a low room temperature (for example in winter, before using the heaters) my turtle sits on his basking area too, head and front legs hidden and the back ones streched to catch as much warmth from the lamp as possible. I assume he is freezing. I do not know, if all turtles act like this, and if the only cause is freezing.
    – Allerleirauh
    Commented Nov 6, 2020 at 16:33

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

It's entirely normal for a turtle to float in water. They can adjust their buoyancy too. However, if your turtle is floating, but with its limbs and head hanging down, you should be concerned.

As for the gender, one of the easier ways is examining the tail. Is it long or thick, or short and skinny? Males have longer and thicker tails than females.

I would highly suggest for you to take your turtle to your vet to ask questions, or if you have any other concerns.

Resources:

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.