# Sexing uromastyx



## Magpie (Apr 12, 2008)

I bought my Saharans as a male and two female group, with the yellow phase being male (Rodney) and the two oranges female. Rodney is definitely a male, he head bobs and has huge waxy pores. It's just the other two 'girls' we just can't fathom. We think they're probably both boys but have asked lots of opinions in real life and there is a mixed concensus. They are an absolute beast to try and identify. 

We have Vespa, who I think is male (but I'm no expert). He has never shown any signs of dominant behaviour, no head bobbing or anything. His belly is bright orange and he has a very chunky head. Here he is:


















Then there's the one with no name (who I'm desperate to name but can't til we know the gender !). This one does head bob, whether in response to Rodney or not I don't know. The belly is also bright orange but pores and head much smaller.


















Their ages are uncertain, we think all are the same age but the unnamed one is quite a bit smaller than the other two. I was told they were 3-4 years old but the vet and other people I've spoken to think they must only be about half this, so probably not fully grown. If anyone can shed any light on their genders I would be very grateful !


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## khamers (Nov 23, 2008)

Sexing geyri is pretty simple so I say all males ........ big heads color on their belly and big pores ........ they probably dont head bob as the yellow one is the dominant male .....

It should be wise to seperate them and give each his own enclosure.

Gr Kamiel


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## salanky (Oct 28, 2009)

heres pictures of a pair i had, the male on the right has since died but the one on the left is a female. quite easy to see the difference in colour
















heres a better picture of the female, shes quite drab compared to the male


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## Magpie (Apr 12, 2008)

Khamers, I think they must have always been together as they live perfectly with each other, never had a problem, we just keep an eye on them in case anything does arise.

Salanky, another keeper showed us his female and she was just as dull, there is a massive difference in colour ! I'm just confused as the man we bought them from seemed to know his uros, and believed they were females ! Doesn't matter to us anyway, it was always a case of, if they bred, that's fine, if not, that's fine as well ! Thanks for the wheat bran substrate recommendation anyway, your pics just reminded me, it's good stuff. They like to have a lick at it and I don't worry about impaction any more.

Thanks to you both anyway, I'll name the baby as a boy ! Any input on how old you think they are as well ?

A couple of things I've also wondered about..
What are they meant to do with the cuttlefish ? They have one, but seem to ignore it. How do they benefit from it ?
When they're shedding and we bathe them, the smallest uro always puts his head underwater for 5-10 seconds, is that normal ?! It worried me first time I saw him do it.


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## salanky (Oct 28, 2009)

i would deffo say yours are male. they really should be split but at the same time if they have always been together and have a hierarchy of sorts maybe just keep an eye on them.

age wise its not easy to tell as they do have fairly long lifespans, the male in my pictures died two days after those pics were taken and i had been told when i got him only a few days previous that he was around 5 or so years old but having tracked down his first owner it turns out he may have been closer to 9 years old. khamers might be better at ageing them for you.

the cuttlefish is a source of calcium and iodine though i never give mine cuttlefish they do get nutrobal on their food twice a week and maybe once a month i give them a pinch of avipro too. shedding wise iv never given mine a bath as when i was looking into them i was told not to bath them as they can be prone to tail rot if the segments dont dry out properly, not sure how true this is or not though. the only help i give when any of my uros is shedding is their toes especially with my ornates as their toes are tiny. 

the bran is great, iv got all of mine on it and they do lick up a fair bit of it. they love digging in it and i do often find my male ornate with just his nose sticking out after burying himself :roll2:


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## Magpie (Apr 12, 2008)

Yeh, I was worried about that if they turned out to be boys but we spoke to the vet and the owner of a shop in Leeds I trust and they've said the same, to keep them in there but keep an eye out. They seem to love being around each other anyway, always find them asleep together despite plenty of hides to choose from. Do you find your uros always want to be around each other, in contact all the time ? If I put them down next to each other but not touching, one will bring out its arm and put it over the other ! I want to anthropomorphise and believe this is a cuddle, haha, but is it affection, or dominance ?

Aww poor boy  It's awful when they go unexpectedly. I know the female we were shown was a lot bigger than any of mine, I hope they've still got some growing to do and are not just stunted !

How do they use the cuttlefish then, do they lick it ? I was told to put some in for their beaks but I think they mainly just ignore it completely, never seen them use it, how do they know what to do ?
I was told that about bathing as well so was adamant I didn't want them getting wet at all but hearing from others they said with their basking spot being so hot they'll dry out in no time anyway. I just give them as much of a dry as I can before they go back in, and put them straight on the basking area and so far so good. Plus Rodney likes to poo on the others so they could do with the bath sometimes. They really enjoy it as well so bonus !

Haha, aww. I bet he looks up at you like, 'what ?!' as well doesn't he ! Love their little expressive faces. I empty their seed bowl into it when I refill it as well so the bran is mixed with budgie tonic seed, fennel, dried marigolds and allsorts, more for them to lick at ! That's if they don't empty it all over their tank first. Don't know what it is, if I put flowers in their seeds, they ransack the whole thing and there's just mess everywhere ! Messy little sods.


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## salanky (Oct 28, 2009)

mine are all housed in separate vivs to make sure they are all eating enough and pooping too, plus the fact that my ornates are still young enough and im not in a position to breed the geyris just yet so its safer to keep them apart. they can all see eachother though and do get some together time during the day when im there. the geyri pair do curl up together for a nap alright 

i guess its one of them things with keeping reptiles, what works for one keeper may not work for another. i know some people grate the cuttlefish over their food but like i said i dont use one. 

they are little characters alright and you cant beat the belly wiggle when you disturb them followed by the little uro smile. such underrated lizards and i cant understand why they arent more popular than they are, i know im a bit biased but they are super animals to keep


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## Magpie (Apr 12, 2008)

We are concerned about the smallest one's eating so he gets first dibs before the others wake up and feed locusts separately as they do steal from each other which resulted in an injury once when Vespa accidentally bit the little one's nose stealing from him !
They do three different sizes of poo as well - Rodney's are always the massive ones, and baby does little pellets like hamsters. Haha, can't believe I'm detailing this at 7am on a Monday morning. I hope they don't start having issues anyway but if they do we will just have to separate them unfortunately.

Haha aww, got to love the uro boogie. I love how they turn their head to look at you, it's like they know things. People overlook them a lot I think because of the price. They just think, 'I can get a whole group of bearded dragons for that, my mate had a dragon and it's really good'. But I think that can only be a good thing, really. They're well underrated, definitely, but that means that only the people who really love them and have done their research will bother buying them instead of impulse buyers in pet shops. They don't know what they're missing !


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