sex of this leo?

[sablebeauty]

this is the leo that i bought in march as a baby so it is at least 6 months old. is it a girl? or at this age can they still turn out to be boys?

 

[Northstar Herp]

It sure appears to have pores to me. Look above the vent (the butthole) and between the hind legs, there is a row of V-shaped scales. Males have pores that secrete a waxy substance, females don't.

I say male.

 

[Keith N]

Yeah it looks like it does have pores to me too

 

[Tony C]

Looks female to me, the pores are small and do not look waxy, and there are no hemipenile bulges.

 

[Northstar Herp]

Looks female to me, the pores are small and do not look waxy, and there are no hemipenile bulges.

Tony, do you know when they begin to look waxy?

 

[Tony C]

I have seen hints of wax production in males well under 10 grams, by 15-20 it should usually be obvious.

 

[Northstar Herp]

That's good to know, thanks Tony. I've never thought to ask anybody, and it's my first breeding season, so I'm trying to sex my hatchlings.

I agree with you on the hemipenal bulges, I was going off of what looks like pores. I re-read the post where the OP said the leo is at least six months old and would agree with you. Waxy or not, the pores should be more pronounced by now if it is a male.

 

[Tony C]

I still get faked out by female pores once in a while, Robin can tell you all about it with one of the Eclipses she is getting from me , but given the age I am confident that this one is female.

 

[Northstar Herp]

I've been trying to sex my three NOVAS with a 20x loupe every few days, and it's driving me crazy! None of them are 20g yet, and I'm really just learning, so it's kinda fun at the same time. but since I don't have much experience to refer back to, I feel like I'm taking guesses until one day it will be obvious...

 

[Tony C]

Can you take pictures? Chances are if they don't look male by now they are female, but it never hurts to get a second opinion.

 

[sablebeauty]

Thanks everyone! By the way, what are the bulges supposed to look like for a leo at this age?

 

[Tony C]

They should be fully developed by that age, although occasional males will have small or nearly absent bulges.

 

[sablebeauty]

do females grow slower than males?

 

[malt_geckos]

definately a female!