How do you know it's a she?

[dreamshark]

Male painted turtles have extra long claws on their front feet. Apparently they are used as some sort of *ahem* turtle sex toy. Bucky's foreclaws are definitely not long enough for a mature male. It's possible that the claws don't elongate until puberty. But there are also some differences in the tail, and I think Bucky's looks more feminine. So I'm pretty sure Bucky's a she.

Male turtle forefoot Downloaded from Internet. Note super-long claws on middle toes.	Bucky's left forefoot The claws would be longer on a male, especially the two in the middle.

Comments

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I had no idea how to distinguish turtle genders.