sexing monitors

[cyrus888]

how big does the monitor have to be till u can sex them? how do you tell which one's male or female?

[crocdoc]

which species of monitor?

[cyrus888]

water monitor.

[crocdoc]

I've never kept salvator, but my guess is that you'll have to wait until it is at least 40-45 cm SVL. Males will usually start showing signs of hemipene bulges at the base of the tail, although females may have hemiclitoral bulges as well. As they get larger, males develop a more heavily built head and are generally more robust than females. If you know anyone with water monitors of known sex, compare the head shape and base of the tail of your animal with theirs.

Sexing is sometimes easy and obvious, sometimes monitors will fool you for ages.

[SHvar]

http://www.bayoubeasts.com/spazzeversion.jpg

The best way to tell, unless someone who can do this properly is available, is that healthy females lay eggs, the key being if kept properly, if healthy and all physical needs are somewhat closely met they produce eggs and lay them. But they can be confusing unless youve seen a few of each to tell outwardly.

[crocdoc]

I wouldn't be promoting hemipene eversion to someone that has just got their first monitor and not all female monitors lay eggs in the absence of males, either.

[SHvar]

Read this again.
"The best way to tell, UNLESS SOMEONE WHO CAN DO THIS PROPERLY IS AVAILABLE, is that healthy females lay eggs".
I have never advocated popping a monitor to anyone, you should never try it unless you know what your doing and have experience doing so and carefully. If you see a full eversion, when your animal is defecating you can reference this pic, but you have also know that the end of a hemipene is flowered or finned on many species, and hemiclitori are shaped like a rolled slice of meat. A parial eversion is not a good reference. I usually like to try putting one monitor in the cage of another without that animal in it to see a full eversion.

[cyrus888]

SHvar, is that am female in the picture?

i dont really know any one that has a monitor around here in lower mainland. so i guess my best bet is to wait for it to lay eggs. since i dont really know how to pop a monitor. i know how to do it on my caiman tho but i guess thats a way different thing.

my next question would be, are monitors easy to breed?

[SHvar]

"This was a 43 inch MALE, now a bit longer.."
One of 4 that a friend of mine has, heres another pic of the other one. A females hemiclitori is thinner and on average shorter than the males hemiclitori. This is another MALE at around 36 or so inches...


http://www.bayoubeasts.com/Titaneversion2.jpg

[cyrus888]

shvar, so how big should they be before i can sex them?

[SHvar]

I know with Albigs and a few others at 2 months you can tell them apart. Like I said these were 3ft+, doesnt take long to get that big. If you want a pair that gets along better though get another while they are hatchling size and raise them together. Its a gamble to sex them that small. Good luck.

[cyrus888]

that would be too bad if i got 2 of thesame sex then hahaha. but thanx for your help. is it hard to breed monitors?

[reptiguy123]

I'm not sure, but I don't think you shuld have a problem if you got two females (besides not producing offspring, of course!).

[crocdoc]

females sometimes fight and sometimes two males get along. There are no certainties.

[cyrus888]

i think i'll just stick with one...