# Sexing Leopard Geckos.......................



## Diablo

I've noticed recently alot of threads containing what sex is my leopard gecko. 

This is here to help those out that need it.

*  A male Leopard Gecko*










Here's a snapshot of the relevant parts of a mature male Leopard Gecko. Notice the well developed row of pre-anal pores, hi-lighted here in blue. Under magnification, these pores can be seen as open holes, often capped with a waxy build-up. Sexually mature specimens will exude a waxy substance from these pores which is smeared about the cage. This is a form of scent marking. Many beginners think their gecko is being cute 'wagging his butt all over the cage'. In reality, he is staking out his territory. Do NOT put another male in with a mature male. They will fight violently, often to the death.

The real giveaway in males is the presence of the two enlarged 'hemipene bulges' at the base of the tail, hi-lighted here in red. If these are evident on your gecko, it is without doubt a male. Juveniles of both sexes will often show a bulge in this area, but it is not neatly divided in two as shown here. 

*A female Leopard Gecko*










Here's a snapshot of the important parts of a mature female Leopard Gecko. Many females will show poorly developed pits in the same location as the pre-anal pores of the male, or sometimes an enlarged row of scales, hi-lighted here in blue. Under magnification, these can be seen to be simple dents or pits in the scales, not true hollow pores, and they'll never have the waxy substance found on males. Many beginners mistake these for the pores of males. Many females also have very slight bulges in the same location as the 'hemipene bulges' as the male, hi-lighted here in red. However, they are never anywhere near as well-defined as those of a male.

It can be very difficult to accurately sex juveniles, ranging from impossible at birth to more and more educated guesses as they grow. Usually, the males will show with absolute certainty at around four months of age (if growing well). Note that this can vary a bit, and a specimen should not be considered female with certainty until about six to eight months of age, when any hope of it's being male can be ruled out safely. To sum up: if a young gecko is obviously male then OK, but if it's not obvious it could be either a female or a male waiting to finish developing. Years of experience sexing hundreds of juveniles each year is a definite plus....


With thanks to VMSherps for the information and photos provided.


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## zukomonitor

hey Diablo,

well done for gettin this a sticky.

other people who are familiar with other species should do the same

saves lots of q's and a good place to refer to and read over.

nice one

carl


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## Northwest reps

Spot on mate 

So well done no need to say anymore


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## Drummerkid

Good guide, seen it on Gecko spot.


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## Diablo

Its floating around a few places its from VMSherps which have the best sexing guide out there.


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## jaykickboxer

well done mate handy to refer to


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## dragon123

very useful


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## bob_l

is there one of those for a beardie?


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## gesh gecko

great sticky and very usful but it might be even better if you would put up pics of a young male and female cause its harder to tell at this age: victory:


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## Diablo

gesh gecko said:


> great sticky and very usful but it might be even better if you would put up pics of a young male and female cause its harder to tell at this age: victory:


If you would like to get some photo's of them and upload them then its sorted.


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## gesh gecko

don't have a good enough camera to take some good pics: victory:


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## bikemadbaz

*sexy*

very useful. thanks for posting. Bazza.: victory:


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## bampoisongirl

just wat i ws after lol


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## Maxim

temp. sexed?


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## kierancbr600

cheers mate i have been wondering about this very question had a look mine are either female or too young to tell


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## Bengledew

from what age can you tell their sex?


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## ShesOnCake_Ox

Thanx That Has Realy Helped


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## Paul B

If nobody has done a beardie one by the weekend i will get my camera out.


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## reptile0mad

nice post really helpful:2thumb:


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## shonny

very cool info..il try it out at my mates rep shop :2thumb: x


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## brianfantana

OMG, Dave's a girl!


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## Sharpy310

Hey Everybody,
Just made a new site to help people with leopard gecko problems *NOT SPAM, JUST INFO WEBSITE*
Check it out at:

My Website

Thanks


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## SNAKEBOY1996

this is very true i think


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## johnus

i think the forum should have a like button coz i like this


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## adivallender

this is a fat tail a reptile shop in bristol couldnt tell me what sex it is. its about 6-8 moths old now n 6 inches


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## fuzzzzbuzzzz

Diablo said:


> I've noticed recently alot of threads containing what sex is my leopard gecko.
> 
> This is here to help those out that need it.
> 
> *  A male Leopard Gecko*
> 
> image
> 
> Here's a snapshot of the relevant parts of a mature male Leopard Gecko. Notice the well developed row of pre-anal pores, hi-lighted here in blue. Under magnification, these pores can be seen as open holes, often capped with a waxy build-up. Sexually mature specimens will exude a waxy substance from these pores which is smeared about the cage. This is a form of scent marking. Many beginners think their gecko is being cute 'wagging his butt all over the cage'. In reality, he is staking out his territory. Do NOT put another male in with a mature male. They will fight violently, often to the death.
> 
> The real giveaway in males is the presence of the two enlarged 'hemipene bulges' at the base of the tail, hi-lighted here in red. If these are evident on your gecko, it is without doubt a male. Juveniles of both sexes will often show a bulge in this area, but it is not neatly divided in two as shown here.
> 
> *A female Leopard Gecko*
> 
> image
> 
> Here's a snapshot of the important parts of a mature female Leopard Gecko. Many females will show poorly developed pits in the same location as the pre-anal pores of the male, or sometimes an enlarged row of scales, hi-lighted here in blue. Under magnification, these can be seen to be simple dents or pits in the scales, not true hollow pores, and they'll never have the waxy substance found on males. Many beginners mistake these for the pores of males. Many females also have very slight bulges in the same location as the 'hemipene bulges' as the male, hi-lighted here in red. However, they are never anywhere near as well-defined as those of a male.
> 
> It can be very difficult to accurately sex juveniles, ranging from impossible at birth to more and more educated guesses as they grow. Usually, the males will show with absolute certainty at around four months of age (if growing well). Note that this can vary a bit, and a specimen should not be considered female with certainty until about six to eight months of age, when any hope of it's being male can be ruled out safely. To sum up: if a young gecko is obviously male then OK, but if it's not obvious it could be either a female or a male waiting to finish developing. Years of experience sexing hundreds of juveniles each year is a definite plus....
> 
> 
> With thanks to VMSherps for the information and photos provided.


 Thanks for the info


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## PogonaVitticeps

Thanks :2thumb:

This really has helped me 


Is it as easy to tell on babies? Because i am thinking of breeding my geckos


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## Komodo king

my friend breeds leopards and beardies he makes alot of money hes gonna try turtles probably be a fail as they are very hard to breed!



-luke:spam1:


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## WoogieWoogford

Would the same go for sexing an African Fat Tail??


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## Ballz Deep

very helpful!


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## Chrisuk33

about owning a lepard gecko.....

im told you can have just 1 you dont have to have pairs, there not to sociable but they tolerate another in the tank, what im saying they dont need a buddy in there tank they can be perfectly happy on there own?

also if there on there own, can i have 1 male in a 2ft wooden vivarium or even one of those exo terra things?


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## Luke_Dixon

Chrisuk33 said:


> about owning a lepard gecko.....
> 
> im told you can have just 1 you dont have to have pairs, there not to sociable but they tolerate another in the tank, what im saying they dont need a buddy in there tank they can be perfectly happy on there own?
> 
> also if there on there own, can i have 1 male in a 2ft wooden vivarium or even one of those exo terra things?


I've got two seperate leos' (one male one female) and they live fine on their own, in fact, they try attack eachother when together (this may just be my geckos though). Yeh it's fine to have them on their own.

As for the tank, it sounds large enough, but the bigger the better, just gives them more room to wander etc. As long as you can fit in the hides, water, calcium pots etc with decor (if you wanted it) then it should be alright, obviously you don't want it cramped so the poor bugger can't move lmao!

But yeh, that's what I think anyway, get some more feedback from more experienced owners aswell, but I think i'm right!: victory:


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## ms.pixielated

does the same go for African fat tails? :hmm:


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## Ophexis

ms.pixielated said:


> does the same go for African fat tails? :hmm:


Sexing? Yes.


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## ms.pixielated

thankyou :2thumb:


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## daveplymouth

> I've got two seperate leos' (one male one female) and they live fine on their own, in fact, they try attack eachother when together (this may just be my geckos though). Yeh it's fine to have them on their own.


You positive they aint both male??


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## KingLouie0825

Great! I was wondering how I would tell the difference. At what age can you tell them apart?


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## Marmelo

Sorry for spam but the name of the Thread should be:
"Sexing Leopard Geckos...[Beware reptile porn inside]"


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## skywalker550

*Sexing Leos*

Hi

thanks mate, it really helps reptile newbies like me to know that I dont have to go down the whole DNA sexing route that I did with my conure.

Great Help

Cheer:no1:


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## exotic candy

Well just found out I got two females  lol


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## RepDave

Explained well


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## GeckoGranny

*sexting*

Your info is a great resource & I am happy that I sexted mine correct when I bought "him" now gonna get me a girl juvvie


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