Sexperts Required Gidgee Skinks

[uaru]

Notice the difference in the tails, 1 and 2 very similar to my 1 and 2. 3 and 4 very similar to my 3. Pretty certain this is a clear sign of dimorphism, that you have skinks showing same kind of differences. Now it is just a matter of working out which ones are male and which ones are female.

Thanks very much for posting these.

Cheers
Uaru

 

[richardsc]

being egernias,if u had more than one male id think they would get pretty agro with each other,ive never had the chance to keep gidgies yet,YET,lol, but cunninghams and land mullets

 

[richardsc]

awsome pics to guys,cool looking skinks,like mini battle ready egernias,so short but stout,i like em,i think with jordos pics u can see quite a difference with head neck and tail build,also like i said,being a colonial lizard,id expect housing more than one male would result in some pretty aggressive fighting,so if they seem to be getting along thats a good sign,unless u have 2 friendly males,but that i wouldnt think would be the norm,lol

 

[uaru]

I have seen my 2 stout tailed Gidgee's have a go at each other, and ended up in a tail chomp which I had to seperate. Thats another reason why I presume my skinks 1 and 2 are male. But apart from that they have been pretty placid towards each other.

Mini battle egernias, I like that/
Cheers
Uaru

 

[jordo]

Yeah the difference in tails is quite obvious, however I should point out that the last two are older and larger than the first two (which I'm presuming are siblings), so the tail and neck differences might just be an age thing.

 

[uaru]

LOL, theres always a catch.

I don't know the age of mine except that they are adult, and also unsure whether siblings or not.

Anyone else got Gidgee's that would like to contribute, with photo's etc.?

Would very much like photo's of confirmed sex Gidgee's. ie photo of female that has given birth and male that has left seminal plugs or retracted hemipenes?

Cheers
Uaru

 

[jordo]

I don't know the age of mine except that they are adult, and also unsure whether siblings or not.

Well you did mention Cujo is longer than the other two so the shorter tails might just be something they grow out of. Tails are used as a fat storage area so they could also look different depending on how "full" they are.

 

[uaru]

Yes Jordo, I here you. But between my 3 the other two are only slightly shorter in length (probably due to the different tail structure), and in terms of size and build I would say they are the same if not slightly bigger build. My guess is that they are the same age, having been selected from a group of five at "Pails" that all looked pretty much the same.

I still feel that the tail structure is a sign of their sex, the shorter tailed gidgee's, have wide based tails allowing for the hemipenes, which makes sense to me. The vent is "squared" in both of them as per Spongebob's post, allowing for the hemipenes to retract either side, which makes sense to me. Cujo's head structure appears smaller, base of tail more slender and vent rounder, which makes sense to me if she is female.

In terms of fat storage my 2 skink, suspect male has what I describe as a swollen tail, "very full" almost bulging kind of effect. And if it is fat its not being stored lengthwise but outwards bit like my waist wants to do when I have eaten too much.

And after looking at all this information we have crossed, looking at your 2 skink, he looks and feels like a little bull. Big head, big build, wide neck and short tail. And I got to say your 3 skink looks so much like Cujo.

What do you reckon? I still feel we have come a long way trying to sex these notorious egernia. My money's on mine being M,M,F and yours M,M,F,F.

It would be interesting to see, once you get a chance whether vents appear to confirm this theory.

Cheers
Uaru