Help sex ackies

poison123 · 04-11-21, 02:14 PM

I've had these guys for a few months now. I read up that the way to sex them when young is to shine a light through their tail to see the hemipenes not sure if thats accurate but I gave it a go. Both look female to me but let me know what you think.

poison123 · 04-11-21, 02:15 PM

Actually while taking some pics the second one does appear male to me but I'm not so sure how pronounced the hemipenes should be at this size.

murrindindi · 04-22-21, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poison123

Actually while taking some pics the second one does appear male to me but I'm not so sure how pronounced the hemipenes should be at this size.

Hi, I think the 1st pic is female the 2nd not sure, can you try again? If they are a few months old and have had decent growth they may already be sexually mature, can you get an accurate length measurement, at least of the SV (snout to vent)?

poison123 · 04-22-21, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, I think the 1st pic is female the 2nd not sure, can you try again? If they are a few months old and have had decent growth they may already be sexually mature, can you get an accurate length measurement, at least of the SV (snout to vent)?

Unfortunately I have a lot of things packed away including my lights for my pictures and other camera but I'll dig it out in a bit. For now I took some full body picks of them. They still seem fairly small to be sexually mature but idk you tell me. They are about 13" total length and about 5"-6" SV. Now I kinda feel like they aren't growing as fast as they're suppose to. Though they have doubled in size since I got them. I believe they were born in November of last year. They are pretty much always in shed and growing, fed daily, half stacked up cork bark for different lvls of basking along with deep substrate to allow for moisture at depth and to maintain burrows (though I have started taking soil out of all my enclosures to prepare for my move). Also with a 10.0 T5 fixture. Let me know what you think about their growth please now it has me thinking.

poison123 · 04-22-21, 12:26 PM

https://ibb.co/QQ1bv0C

https://ibb.co/XVxgRWL

poison123 · 04-22-21, 12:35 PM

For some reason they either upload too big or just don't show so had to use that site. Thats both of them.

poison123 · 04-22-21, 12:42 PM

Heres an image from the seller when I got them.

murrindindi · 04-22-21, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poison123

For some reason they either upload too big or just don't show so had to use that site. Thats both of them.

They can become sexually mature @ a snout to vent length of 10 to 12cm so I think yours may already be that (sexually mature adults).
Can you show the whole enclosure (I promise I`ll try my very best to be kind)!?

poison123 · 04-22-21, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrindindi

They can become sexually mature @ a snout to vent length of 10 to 12cm so I think yours may already be that (sexually mature adults).
Can you show the whole enclosure (I promise I`ll try my very best to be kind)!?

Wow didn't know they could be sexually mature at such a small size. And no worries please critic all you want. They are in a 4x2x2 enclosure. When I move I am thinking of putting them into a large trough or stock tank to allow for deeper substrate when they are larger. Haven't decided yet.

https://ibb.co/mHKByVZ

poison123 · 04-22-21, 02:14 PM

Dont mind the messy glass and outside of cage. Enclosure on top of this one had a water leak

murrindindi · 04-23-21, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poison123

Wow didn't know they could be sexually mature at such a small size. And no worries please critic all you want. They are in a 4x2x2 enclosure. When I move I am thinking of putting them into a large trough or stock tank to allow for deeper substrate when they are larger. Haven't decided yet.

https://ibb.co/mHKByVZ

I think the size is far too small even for one adult, let alone two, if one/both are female you need at least 10 to 12 inches of substrate for nesting, that only leaves 12 inches "air space" above ground. For one single adult I would recommend a minimum of 5L x 2.5 to 3W x 3.5 to 4H (feet) they will use every inch of space if given the means. For two, add another foot to the length... For too long keepers and "breeders" have advised the size you use as acceptable, particularly if their animals breed successfully, suggesting in that case "it`s all they require"? I say that`s nonsense, especially for such active animals, it`s more about saving space than providing as much as possible. People do not breed monitors, monitors do that themselves, we mostly just incubate the eggs!
What are the substrate temps from surface to floor of the enclosure throughout?

poison123 · 04-23-21, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrindindi

I think the size is far too small even for one adult, let alone two, if one/both are female you need at least 10 to 12 inches of substrate for nesting, that only leaves 12 inches "air space" above ground. For one single adult I would recommend a minimum of 5L x 2.5 to 3W x 3.5 to 4H (feet) they will use every inch of space if given the means. For two, add another foot to the length... For too long keepers and "breeders" have advised the size you use as acceptable, particularly if their animals breed successfully, suggesting in that case "it`s all they require"? I say that`s nonsense, especially for such active animals, it`s more about saving space than providing as much as possible. People do not breed monitors, monitors do that themselves, we mostly just incubate the eggs!
What are the substrate temps from surface to floor of the enclosure throughout?

Are you asking what the temps are inside the burrows? Not sure if you were but I put a probe down there and the lowest I saw was 74F. The cool side of the enclosure hit 77F (ground temp) warm side seems to be around 80-87f (ground temp) depending on how far back I do the reading. As I go up the temps raise up to 150f on the very top of the cork and starts at 91F at the very bottom piece. These were all measured with digital thermometers and temp guns. As for the size of the enclosure IG my info was outdated as I was under the impression that 4x2x2 was an appropriate size for at least one but I do agree even at this size they use every inch of the enclosure. I 100% intended on going for a larger enclosure anyway but knowing they can produce at this size I will speed things along. I have the funds so I will likely place an order now since the person I order from has a 6 week wait time on enclosures.

murrindindi · 04-24-21, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poison123

Are you asking what the temps are inside the burrows? Not sure if you were but I put a probe down there and the lowest I saw was 74F. The cool side of the enclosure hit 77F (ground temp) warm side seems to be around 80-87f (ground temp) depending on how far back I do the reading. As I go up the temps raise up to 150f on the very top of the cork and starts at 91F at the very bottom piece. These were all measured with digital thermometers and temp guns. As for the size of the enclosure IG my info was outdated as I was under the impression that 4x2x2 was an appropriate size for at least one but I do agree even at this size they use every inch of the enclosure. I 100% intended on going for a larger enclosure anyway but knowing they can produce at this size I will speed things along. I have the funds so I will likely place an order now since the person I order from has a 6 week wait time on enclosures.

I was asking what the substrate temps are from the very bottom (enclosure floor) up to nearer the surface, because they need to be in a suitable range for nesting, ideally they would be from the high 70`sF to the mid 80`sF, the latter temp is often where they will nest (deposit) eggs.
There is an outside chance even if you have 2 females that the eggs could be fertile, the point is females WILL become gravid on a regular basis without a male being present, so it`s extremely important to have "suitable" nesting available at all times.