But later it becomes complicated. Understanding painted turtle's mature sizes can be helpful for determining gender. There are no rings or lines on a turtle shell that increase with age to tell how old the turtle is. It is very important that people know how to take care of them properly. Painted Turtle Life Span. However, in more mature turtles, the bottom of the carapace on a male has a rounded indentation close to the tail to accommodate mating. I really believe that turtles will get more popular as a pet in the upcoming years. Over time, these gradually disappear, and the shell becomes smooth across the top. How to Tell The Age of a Turtle: Two Effective Methods? Identifying the gender of a turtle is not a simple task to do. If you found a little turtle, it just came out of the nest this year. The scutes on a painted turtle have rings that resemble those in the cross section of a tree. Except for the breeding experts, no one is actually bothered. This species has not undergone any selective breeding, and handling can cause undue stress. Typical plastron lengths for mature males are between a little less than 3 inches and a little less than 4 inches. While you cannot determine the exact age of a snapping turtle based on these ridges, it is reasonable to assume that any turtle who has a smooth carapace is at least a few years old. Till now, scientists haven’t come up with any definitive technique to know the exact age of a turtle. I own two turtles. Painted turtles have been known to live as long as 50 years in captivity, so they can truly be (nearly) lifelong companions. Smaller turtles are easier to estimate. When turtles shed old scutes, the new ones have an added ring. If you don’t know about the feeding habit of the painted turtle, it is essential to know how often do painted turtles eat, right? In this article, I’ll try to give clarification to the question how can you tell if a turtle is male or female. While you can count rings on the turtle's belly, that method is often a better representation of when the turtle had food and when it didn't. ). If I say more specifically, up to the age of 15, it is a very easy process to know the turtle’s age. Despite their extremely wide distribution, there are just four different subspecies. If you have a painted turtle in our house, this guide is very important for you as here I’m going to share my 10 years’ experiences with my favorite pet, painted turtle. If they are wild turtles it is almost impossible to tell the age for sure. Hatchling turtles possess three distinct ridges down the length of their carapaces. The best way is using the shell length to estimate. The whole process of determining the age of a turtle is a rough estimation. Choosing a more common pet turtle, like a red-eared slider, is a better decision than a painted turtle. The summary of the entire content is you can calculate almost the exact age of the turtle when it is young. Here are approximate growth rates. Given proper diet, housing, and care, you can reasonably expect a painted turtle to live for 25 to 30 years. Domestic turtles will grow faster than their wild counter parts. The best you can do is identify the turtle species and look up their max (normal) size and guess from there. Painted turtles are some of the most widespread members of the turtle (Testudines) family in North America. But if you are a turtle lover then it’s obvious that you want to know how to determine painted turtle gender. In a zoological setting, these turtles thrive when handling is minimal. A typical sea turtle reaches breeding age around 25-30 (for loggerheads). Their name comes from the brightly colored markings on their extremities, which range from yellow, to orange, to red. Painted Turtle Care. The largest subspecies is the western painted turtle (C. p. bellii), which grows up to 26.6 cm (10 in) long. Its top stripe is a prominent red, and its bottom shell is tan and spotless or nearly so. Does the Painted Turtle Make a Good Pet. Sometimes you see the » Read more. As such, the estimated age may vary slightly, but this isn’t an issue of concern. Counting the number of rings on a scute will tell you the age of a painted turtle. That’s why I’ve created this website to share my turtle keeping knowledge with you. Unless you know when a turtle is born, it's nearly impossible to tell its age. As a turtle lover, I have depicted the difference in an easier way that would help you to determine the gender of a painted turtle. So, it is a hatchling. Growth rates vary depending on various conditions (amount of food, temps, etc. Domestic ones are a little bit easier but not by much. Painted Turtle Housing. The southern painted turtle (C. p. dorsalis), the smallest subspecies, is 10–14 cm (4–6 in) long. You cannot count the rings to determine age. I’ve fallen in love with these cute pets from the moment I saw them. If you are a pet turtle owner, then I bet there are many times you’ve wondered if your turtle is a male or female. Adult female painted turtles are bigger than the males, with typical plastron -- or bottom shell -- lengths of between roughly 4 and 5 inches. Leave a comment. You don't mention the age of your turtle, it is difficult to determine the sex of a baby.