# How to tell if goanna is male or female?



## Clarky (Oct 6, 2007)

Hi i just got 2 goannas and when i was holding one of them something popped out of the vent bit near its tail so i think its a male but not postively sure. Can someone tell how to tell without having to probe them? thanks...


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## Wild~Touch (Oct 6, 2007)

Usually 2 hemipenes "pop" out = male


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## Wild~Touch (Oct 6, 2007)

My female Mertens Water monitor "pops" something out when handled it's different from the male
(duh sorry I can't explain better than that)


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## Clarky (Oct 6, 2007)

thanks  ill have a look tomorro...
cheers


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## Clairebear (Oct 6, 2007)

My male just popped his out a few weeks ago when he did a nice big poo... two long red skinny things, i thought it was his intestines and freaked out. I've intensley watched the other poo (gross i know) and nothing has popped out yet at all... but that means nothing really as they won't always pop them out when they poo. Mine are Storr's monitors though and are apparently pretty hard to sex (please someone prove me wrong with that statement i'd love to know another way!)


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## OzRocks (Oct 6, 2007)

It depends what goanna species you have,
some like male ridge-tailed monitors or accies have a cluster of spurs near the base of the tail or on the foot or somethin like that,
if your lucky enough you can see a male evert his hemipenes,
or some are so difficult they have to be x-rayed when sexually mature to see the bone structure of the hips like lacies....I think females have wider so they can carry and lay eggs (somethin along those lines)
Im sure a monitor expert will jump on soon and tell the specifics

cheers, matt


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## Macca (Oct 6, 2007)

The most certain way to tell, other than have the hemipenes pop out when handled, is x-raying as Ozrocks has mentioned. When you x-ray, you are actually looking for an ossification of the hemipenes, called hemibacullum, which are quite conspicuous in larger species. For smaller species, it is handy to know exactly what you are looking for, otherwise your x-rayer may not detect them. If the hemibacullum are present, its a boy.

Cheers,

Macca


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## Clarky (Oct 9, 2007)

thanks for your help 
when i was handling one of myn something poped out it was just one red thing and it was sorta opening and closing as it got further out and in so that pretty much means its a female?


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## richardsc (Oct 9, 2007)

could be either clarky,also not all monitors can be sexed by x ray,spme are easier than others though,eg tristis males spurrs are alot bigger and more pronounced than females,also some like panoptes and some varieties of gouldi males grow alot bigger and solider than females,alot of the smaller monitors the males will get solider heads in comparison to females,i could see that in my gillens,storrs and ridgeys more than a diff in spurr sizes


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