Sexing geckos
This is both for you that wants to learn to sex your gecko, or atleast some guide to how the pictures should be, if you want to have someone look for you.
This example is crested geckos, but same metode can also be used on many others. Gargoyle, chahoua, leachianus etc. with minimal difference.
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When being at 20-30g you mostly aren’t unsure of the sex, since males have a bulge. The male will have a hemepenis bulge, while the females are flat. If the females are a bit obese they can get a little round bulge out, but the difference is big male vs female, so you shouldn't be unsure.
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Another way to check the gender, is to loupe the gecko. This can be done already at 5-10 grams.
To loupe the gecko, you need to see closely on the scales between the geckos legs. This can be done with either a loupe made for it (just search reptile sexing loupe) or a kamera and a macro lense. Maybe a phone with a macro lens would work too, but I haven’t tried myself.
The pictures quality need to be at least as good as the ones below. And these actually the best pictures, but I will try to update to some better examples at some point. So keep this in mind when posting and asking others about the sex. Because we can’t see it on a bad mobile pic, if you can’t see the scales clearly at all.
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The first two pictures are males, and the last pictures are males. All geckos in these pictures are around 5-10g.
Personally I’m more confident to loupe at at least 10g, but you can also try to see earlier, some is easier to tell than others. The bigger the gecko is, the easier it is to see it. The pores can be very hard to see as smaller.
what to look for with males:
- There's a v-shaped row of pores. Often see these as dark 'dots' in the middle of the scales.
- A bit overlapping scales.
- Shiny/wax looking scales (but after my experience it's not always you see shiny scales on small males).
what to look for with females:
- Scales won't overlap.
- No shiny/wax looking scales.
- No line of pores. They can have a few pores, called pseudo pores. But you shouldn't be in doubt compared to a male.
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