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Is my turtle healthy? How to check for shell damage and gender?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Dose my turtle look healthy? Dose he have any shell damage? How do I know if it’s a boy or girl?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 27th, 2018

I am afraid without a photo of your turtle I cannot tell you if he or she looks healthy. You need to upload a photo for that. You can tell a male turtle by its longer tail and that the bottom of his carapace (shell) appears hollowed out, so it would easily fit on top of the rounded shell of a female. Females have a flat bottom of the shell.

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