Urgent Care :: what is this thing?

[johann's mom]

Ok...our largest turtle has started something weird...we thought it was something to do with laying eggs but all the articles i've read haven't given a clue about this.....this long black....thing...comes out of its' cloaca while it's on the bottom of the tank in the rocks...and then it goes back inside and the turtle swims around again....other than that it seems fine with no abnormal behavior. we haven't changed anything in the tank recently. we're not sure of the sex,we think it's a girl,it's about a year and a half old and probably just around 4-5 inches. anybody seen this before? thanks.

[jenaero]

Sounds like a male to me. He was exposing his penis. As long as it goes back in, everything's fine.

[johann's mom]

wow....really? will they do that a lot in the rocks at the bottom? we figured it was a girl trying to lay eggs....wow,THAT makes a difference....oops....would it be doing that because a female laid eggs there? we've got a yellow belly and two smaller RES but they seem too small to tell the sex...the yellow belly is just now nearing 4 inches. any ideas?

[industrial_girl_2000]

this long black....thing...comes out of its' cloaca while it's on the bottom of the tank in the rocks...and then it goes back inside and the turtle swims around again....other than that it seems fine with no abnormal behavior. we haven't changed anything in the tank recently. we're not sure of the sex,we think it's a girl,it's about a year and a half old and probably just around 4-5 inches. anybody seen this before? thanks.

Congratulations! It's a boy.

[TinySlider2]

Aww Congrats. When mine done that the first time. I freaked out. I thought something was wrong with him.

[missibsu]

Here's another clue to look for...long front nails. Females have much shorter nails than the males do. Congratulations!

[johann's mom]

well,that makes us feel better about rushing to build a nesting place...at least til we figure out what the yellow belly is... thanks guys,i was kinda worried!

[marisa]

He's fanning. And it can be rather unsettling when you see it the first time.