How do I know if my leopard gecko is male or female?

How do I know if my leopard gecko is male or female?

So, you’ve purchased your leopard gecko and you want to find out if you have a male or a female, a notoriously difficult task unless you know what to look for. Depending on where you purchased your leopard gecko from you may already know, for example, if your gecko came from a breeder, they may have told you the sex of your gecko.

Interestingly, the sex of leopard geckos is influenced by the incubation temperature whilst in their eggs. If you do not know the incubation temperature for your gecko, you will have to gently and safely pick them up and take a look, here’s how to tell their sex from looking.

Your gecko will reach sexual maturity at around 10 months old; you will not be able to find out their sex before this time. The only way to know what sex your gecko is before this time is if you know the incubation temperature.

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To find out what sex your leopard gecko is done by gently picking them up and turning them over to check their underside, here are a few things you will need to look out for to distinguish the sex of your gecko:

Male leopard geckos

• Although both female and male leopard geckos have preanal pores, the males are much more pronounced – these are presented inline above the base of the trail and between the underside of their thighs. Even if you think you have cracked your gecko’s sex, there are other identifiers that you should check to make sure you have got it right.
• The base of male leopard gecko’s tails will have two bumps or mounds at the base of their tails, females will not have these. This is where your male gecko’s reproductive organs are housed and once your gecko has reached sexual maturity this is the biggest indicator of sex.
• On the back of your gecko’s thighs will be their femoral pores, both females and males have these

Female leopard geckos

• Female leopard geckos do have femoral pores, but they are very small and are more difficult to see than those of males.
• Female leopard geckos lack the hemipenile bump that the males have and is often the best way to spot whether your gecko is male or female.
• Their preanal pores are again very small and are much harder to see than those of male leopard geckos. They are located above your gecko’s vent – towards their head – and are often in a ‘V’-shape.