Help sexing my Ackies

[ingie]

I got these two as hatchlings in May2010 so they are just coming up to one year of age. I was hoping I had a pair because for the last few months one seems to be growing like mad and the other looks quite petite by comparison....

This morning I picked up the bigger one and he popped one of his hemipenes out so I thought i'd post pics to see if people think the other is a female or a small male.

Since the day I got them one has always dominated the other, mounting it and basking on it's back. The dominant one grew bigger and is the confirmed male. They have never injured each other so I left them together. I hope the other is a female though or else if they are two boys the smaller one might feel too stressed/dominated to eat. Does anyone who keeps Ackies think the smaller looks underweight?

Food isn't a limiting factor as I breed my own woodies and rodents so they always have as many pinkies and woodies as they can eat and there are always leftover woodies hiding in the enclosure that they can hunt down.

The two together:

The confirmed male:

The smaller unknown:

 

[sookie]

well the logical thing to think is it must be a girl,being smaller.and quite a bit smaller.but hell they are something else,gorgoeus pair of ackies,sort of want one myself.my beardies stack up on each other male,female just a stack of lizards.do the males actually dominate from a young age?

 

[ingie]

Yeah they do! I got them when they were a few weeks old and one was dominating immediately.... Boys and girls do it though so it doesn't tell me much They are so beautiful I love them very much

I would really appreciate a few educated opinions from people who have experience sexing monitors.. I saw some past threads where people posted pics like this and got loads of help....

I am trying to decide if I will buy another setup and temporarily house them separately so I can get condition on the little one if it is a female, or if I will seek out a female who can live with the male and find a new home for the the little one where he can thrive, if he turns out to be male.

 

[sookie]

Pm me if you need to find him anew home,i would love to take him off your hands.......cutie pie.

 

[Laghairt]

I would say you have a pair there. A good indicator is distance between the eyes and width of the base of the tail. Males are generally bigger in both categories. Having said that you can never be 100% sure.

Also, try running your thumb over their spurs. If they are soft and flexible you probably have a female. The spurs on males are harder/more rigid and will catch/scrape on your thumbs more than the females' will.

I read on an American site that there is a theory ackies are able to choose sex and that when kept in pairs from a young age you will almost always get a pair. I think this was based on anecdotal evidence of one breeder though.

If it's true I wonder if the domination has anything to do with it. I have four young ones at the moment and I am 100% sure one is a male. His masculine characteristics are extremely pronounced compared to the other three.

 

[ingie]

Thanks for the help!! I don't have to worry anymore seeing as I caught them mating today! Usually they are just doing the dominance thing but this looked different so I got in and had a good look and yep I witnessed lizard porn lol. Can't wait for babies I hope the mating is successful - I will have to get my incubator ready - if she lays eggs this will be my first reptile breeding

 

[Jazzz]

i hope she lays eggs as well =] im in brisbane and they are gorgeous!!

 

[Snakeluvver2]

The only way to be 100% certain is to get x rays.

 

[Chicken]

or if they mate, lol gratz good luck hope you get some healthy little babies

 

[Snakeluvver2]

hahah or that.
that is a pretty good way to tell

 

[Bushfire]

The unknown one is a female