What Are the Differences Between Female and Male Chinese Pond Turtles? Learn to Tell Male and Female Chinese Pond Turtles Apart

The Chinese pond turtle, also known as the Chinese turtle, golden-thread turtle, and so on, is one of the common aquatic turtle species in our country, often inhabiting rivers, lakes, and ponds. Because of its unique physical features, the Chinese pond turtle is loved by many turtle keepers, so where do the differences between female and male Chinese pond turtles lie?

1. Differences Between Female and Male Chinese Pond Turtles

The male turtle's belly is concave, its body is smaller, its shell is black, its torso is long and thin, and its tail is long with a slender base; while the female turtle's belly is flat, its body is larger, its shell is brownish yellow, its longitudinal ridges are prominent, its torso is short and thick, and its tail is short with a thick base. In addition, the male's cloacal opening is far from the body, while the female's is close to the body; after reaching adulthood, the male turtle turns black all over, while the body color of the female Chinese pond turtle generally remains unchanged for life.

The Chinese pond turtle is an aquatic reptile that can also crawl onto land. During the day it mostly stays hidden in the water, and it is gentle in temperament; when it encounters enemies or is startled, it retracts its head, limbs, and tail into its shell. It is an omnivorous animal, and in artificial keeping it is mainly fed small fish and shrimp, lean meat, small insects, rice, vegetables, fruit, turtle feed, and so on. When young, they lean toward a meat-based diet, and after reaching adulthood they lean toward a vegetarian diet.

2. Little-Known Facts About the Chinese Pond Turtle

1. The Chinese pond turtle is an “old antique” on Earth. As early as 120 million years ago it already had its modern form; it appeared in the Carboniferous Period and is an animal of the same era as the dinosaurs.

2. The Chinese pond turtle is one of the few animals that can still survive after entering space. In 1968, a pair of Soviet turtles entered space and flew around the Moon, and after returning they were still in good health.

3. The Chinese pond turtle has extremely strong vitality. Among Japanese netizens there is even an example of a Chinese pond turtle that survived after being frozen into a block of ice.

4. During the Zhou Dynasty there was an official called the “turtle man,” whose duty was to take charge of turtles: “if there is a sacrifice, then carry the turtle there.”

That is all for what we have to say about the Chinese pond turtle. When buying Chinese pond turtles on the market, be sure to distinguish them carefully so as not to buy the wrong sex.