help me sex them

hi i'm rather new and thank you guys for the help in recent threads. i have been referring to both my geckos as she and now i'm noticing one seems a bit bulgier than the other as of late. they are fairly young, 10 months-ish. but please give me your opinion based on these photos...

this is the one i'm questioning, bract...

you can't see much here
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...bract1copy.jpg

you can see a little something on the side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...bract3copy.jpg

and it's much more noticeable from underneath
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...xingbract4.jpg

here's the one i'm pretty sure is female, sepal...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...xingsepal2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...sepal3copy.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...loringcopy.jpg

thanks for any and all input

with their size they both appear to be girls, usually at that size there is no doubt if it is a male.



vaughn

do you think bract might just be a late bloomer? i would have said both female too but the third pic down looks like a little something might be happening...

I think I agree with Mle, the 2nd and 3rd photo seem to be showing a bulge while the other seems to have nothing. I've been reading on repashy and caponetto's sites where some can up and proclaim their malehood as late as 9 - 11 months of age (not common but can happen). It's possible at least!

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Originally Posted by wendyhoo9

I think I agree with Mle, the 2nd and 3rd photo seem to be showing a bulge while the other seems to have nothing. I've been reading on repashy and caponetto's sites where some can up and proclaim their malehood as late as 9 - 11 months of age (not common but can happen). It's possible at least!

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I agree with this thought also, I too have heard they can show thier manliness later. Looks like Bract may be a boy!

hmm interesting. yes when i received them a couple months ago i was told by their previous owner that they were very small for their age. a little stunted, because he wasn't really feeding them crickets at all. since they've been with me they have relished crickets, and get them pretty frequently, and grown and changed considerably over these past couple months. do you think the lack of protein in their diet could have just caused his "boy bulge" to develop a little late?
again thanks for all help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zennygirl

hmm interesting. yes when i received them a couple months ago i was told by their previous owner that they were very small for their age. a little stunted, because he wasn't really feeding them crickets at all. since they've been with me they have relished crickets, and get them pretty frequently, and grown and changed considerably over these past couple months. do you think the lack of protein in their diet could have just caused his "boy bulge" to develop a little late?
again thanks for all help.

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Very well could have. Bearded dragons are also dependant on animal protiens to continue to grow, it affects thier growth rate considerably. I would guess that cresteds are dependant on animal protiens to grow also.

I've noticed some huge differences between babies I've purchased a few months ago and newer ones more recently. I feed crickets at least every other night and my guys have flourished. Their cagemates which are the same size I picked up a few weeks ago are actually 4 weeks older than my originals. I think the added protein definately helps them grow faster and actually have read that feeding Gargoyle Gecko Diet (which is higher in protein) also helps to bulk up the babies faster. This could be why some geckos my blossom later, but may not always be the cause.

High incubation temps can also create late "blooming" geckos as well.

time will tell, usually there is no doubt when it's a male. if you have a magnifying glass you can look at the preanal pores and see if they have dimples or holes in them. i've never done this but they say that males have visible dimples/pores. you might need a strong magnifying glass or 8x loupe


vaughn

wow, that sounds very interesting. i actually work in a natural science shop where i have access to all sorts of loupes. do you know of a link/photo of these preanal pores so i know what i'm looking for?

also, when should i worry about him getting the ideas to get fresh with my female? i wasn't quite prepared to have a breeding pair yet and wanted it to be a little more thought out. they are still so young but i want to be ready when i need to take action.

The first time I saw my male getting "fresh" with my female it was WAY obvious as I realized that wasn't a poo he was taking as he sidled on up to his girlfriend! :O


Males are usually ready to breed sooner than females, but I believe I read on a chat with Anthony Caponetto that you could start breeding them when they hit 20 grams (with tail). One way to cool any breeding behaviors is to drop their cage temps but it would probably be most beneficial to the geckos to just separate them.

Any other ideas?? :)

30-35 grams is ideal size for females to be in order to start breeding, males i think 25 or so grams is good. sometimes if the male is significantly smaller than the female the female will beat up on him when he makes an attempt at breeding so really the closer in size they are the better. with my females i always wait until they are at least 35 grams and close to a year old. for instance, i have a 5-6 month old that so far is looking to be female and is already 30+ grams but since it still young i am not going to introduce it to a male.

the photos of the pores are in the rhacodactylus book by vosjoli,fast, and repashy. i don't think i could photograph them and get the detail to show up.


vaughn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mlededee

30-35 grams is ideal size for females to be in order to start breeding, males i think 25 or so grams is good. sometimes if the male is significantly smaller than the female the female will beat up on him when he makes an attempt at breeding so really the closer in size they are the better. with my females i always wait until they are at least 35 grams and close to a year old. for instance, i have a 5-6 month old that so far is looking to be female and is already 30+ grams but since it still young i am not going to introduce it to a male.

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Good thing I my already gravid female I picked up weighs in at 45g then! I'm glad you posted that as I am still waiting on my young ones to grow up a bit myself before they hit breeding size. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by kavmon

the photos of the pores are in the rhacodactylus book by vosjoli,fast, and repashy. i don't think i could photograph them and get the detail to show up.


vaughn

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cool, i just bought the book online 10 minutes ago.
well, i guess i have to separate them. which is very disappointing since i just bought them this nice new 30+gallon cage. i will weigh them shortly too, just have to find a scale.