Hi there i wonder if anyone can help meconfused:
I have 2 turtles dont know what kind they are and havent got a clue how to tell if there male or female. They keep stroking each others faces with both feet and it looks like there kissing. Im still new to this.
The both of them are the same size about 3 inches. They have a funny shell the top of the shell is spikie like a hedgehog lol. Can anyone help plz.
I havent got any pics up yet of them i will get some and post them on.
Thanx

Most aquatic turtles can be sexed by comparing the length between the Cloaca and the tip of the tail. In males, the Cloaca is closer to the end of the tail.

At 3 inches, they are too small to be able to sex

What they are doing is called 'fanning' and is a mating 'ritual'... it can also be a sign of dominance, or just 'practicing' between adolescents.

When they are very young they are really difficult to sex, but as they get a bit older, the male will develop much longer front claws (almost tallons) which he uses to hold onto the females shell for mating.

The other giveaway is the length of the tail. In the male, the tail contains the penis about a third of the way along it's length. To accomodate this the tail is much thicker and longer than for the female.

I appreciate it is difficult to differentiate if you happen to say have two females or two males together. But could I suggest that you search for your breed on You Tube and then you will hopefully find some comparisons with your own to help you out

Also commonly even in turtles of the same age, the male is much smaller in size than the female - he might even be half of her size!