Rio Grande Cooters sexing?

[Paschendale52]

Hi all,

I'm curious about sexing rio grande cooters. Generally turtles/tortoises can't be sexed until a few years of age. I noticed among my 4 Rio Grande cooters, two are quite a bit larger than the others. The large ones have relatively flat plastrons while the smaller ones have a relatively concave plastron.

Typically size and plastron curve are the two easiest way to sex, but these guys are ~6 months old. Are these natural fluctuations in size and shape that will change with age? Can you actual tell sex sometimes this early?

Thanks!

 

[TammyJ]

Beautiful, but too young...!