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Not sure if your leopard gecko is male or female? Fortunately, determining the sex of any of the cute little lizards is quite simple and straightforward once they reach a certain age and size. like many reptilesLeopard geckos are sexually dimorphic, meaning male versus female geckos have several key physical differences.
Keep reading if you want to accurately determine the sex of your gecko. Whether you want know for breeding purposes or you’re just curious, it helps to know their gender as male and female geckos have slightly different care requirements. I will discuss when you can reliably tell if your lion is male or female and what physical indicators to look for on their body.
When can you accurately determine the sex of a leopard gecko?
Interestingly, you might just ask your breeder about the incubation temperature of your gecko’s egg! Studies have shown that incubation temperature determines the sex of a leopard gecko. If a clutch of eggs is hatched at 80 to 82F, they will be mostly females. If the clutch is hatched at 88 to 90F, they will be mostly males. But if the eggs are kept at 83 to 87F, the eggs will be almost a 50/50 mixture of males and females.
However, if you didn’t get your gecko from a breeder, don’t have this information handy, or you can’t contact them, you’ll need to use other methods to know if your scaly friend is male or female.
As I mentioned earlier, female and male geckos have several important physical differences. These differences begin to appear when they reach their juvenile growth stage (or about 4 to 6 months old). There is much debate about when to accurately sex a leopard gecko, but most experienced breeders and reptile experts agree that after the gecko is about 6 months old, you can reliably determine the sex.
How do you determine the sex of a leopard gecko?
There are three main indicators that can tell you whether a leopard gecko is male or female. However, these features do not become apparent until they are about 6 months old. More specifically, the features are femoral pores, pre-anal pores and hemipenal bulges.
Pre-anal pores and hemipenal bulges are only present on male geckos. Femoral pores can be present in both men and women, but men typically have much larger, darker, and more pronounced pores. Some female geckos have very small femoral pores, while others have none at all.
Let’s move on to what exactly these features look like and where to look for them when determining the sex of your gecko.
Method 1: Determine the presence of pre-anal pores
Checking to see if your gecko has pre-anal pores is the most accurate way to determine if they are male or female. Pre-anal pores are a small, V-shaped line of pores just above a male gecko’s opening between their legs. While males have very pronounced pores that look like large black or brown dots, females lack them completely.
Male leopard geckos use these pores to secrete pheromones. They use these pheromones to attract potential female mates and identify with other geckos nearby.
If your gecko is a little too skittish to let you see the underside, try placing it in a clear plastic or glass container and holding it over your head. Squeeze or hold the lizard on their backs for a long time.
Method 2: Determine the presence of hemipenal bulges
Another very accurate but slightly less obvious way to tell if your gecko is male or female is to determine if they have hemipenal bulges. These bulges are only present in males. The gecko’s hemipenes are kept in the bulges until they need to mate, in which case they come out temporarily.
Hemipenal bulges are two small mounds on the underside of your gecko just below their opening. Male geckos have distinct bulges, while the vents of the females are smooth. You can use the same methods as mentioned above here. Hold the gecko overhead or place them in a clear-bottomed container and examine the area just below their vent.
Method 3: Examining Femoral Pores
The third characteristic to look for when determining the sex of your gecko is their femoral pores. Male geckos also use these pores to secrete pheromones, although both males and females can have them. However, the femoral pores in females are very small (if they are present at all), while the femoral pores of males are very large and clear and more prone to clogging.
Femoral pores are located on the underside of a leopard gecko’s hind legs. These are usually small lines of brown or brown dots, one of which runs horizontally across the gecko’s thighs. If your gecko has very large, dark and clear femoral pores, they are probably male. On the other hand, if they have barely visible pores or no pores at all, they are probably female.
This method is not as accurate or easy to determine as the two mentioned above. However, it can still help confirm your gecko’s gender once you’ve looked at their pre-anal pores and hemipenal bulges.
Other Physical Differences Between Male and Female Leopard Geckos
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females.
Male and female leopard geckos have a few other physical differences, although these vary wildly depending on a person’s genetics/morph, age and size. I don’t recommend looking at these features alone to determine the sex of your gecko, but they can serve as additional confirmation if you’ve already used the methods described earlier.
Female geckos are generally smaller, leaner and taller. Their tails are usually slightly less bulky than those of male geckos. In addition, their heads are also thinner and longer.
Alternatively, male geckos are larger, bulkier and slightly shorter in length. Their heads are also wider and shorter. Male geckos weigh a little more than females on average.
Finally, females lay eggs while males do not. Interestingly, female geckos can occasionally lay (infertile) eggs, even without ever having been in contact with a male. If your gecko has recently laid a clutch, it is definitely a female!
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