Sexing young eastern box turtles

[JMS13]

I have a ~5 month old cbb hatchling and have found very little information on sexing young turtles. I have found information saying they don't show sex for years, and all the other guides were for adult animals. Does eye color and scale/shell coloration change drastically the first few years?

 

[Yvonne G]

@JMS13 - When a male box turtle is in active breeding condition his eyes are bright red or orange. This is NOT a good way to tell the sex, however, because sometimes there are females with red eyes. Adult males have larger, broader back feet. But the best way to tell which sex they are is by the tail. The male's cloaca is further away from the body than the female's. Also, the male tail is longer. But you can't see these characteristics until the turtles are about four or five years old. So, sorry to say, you won't know the sex of your turtle for a couple more years yet.

 

[JMS13]

Thank you for the help! The wait is half the fun right?