I too noted the smaller pores and smaller head which made me think female at first, especially compared with similarly sized males. However, in addition to the black areas on the head and white tail, what really threw me off was what appeared to be hemipenal bulges. Most of the reptiles that I've worked with are very sexually dimorphic, like four-horned chameleons, and so I don't usually use bulges to distinguish the sexes. So my question is, what am I looking at with this chuck that appears to hemipenal bulges, fat deposits, maybe muscle?

So Nick, you've seen plenty of redback females with dark black areas on their head? Do you happen to know if such females, which might mimic to a slight degree the appearance of a male, are as successful at breeding like more typical females? Though it might sound like a strange question, the reason I ask is that I've heard of female leopard geckos (I've never worked with them before) that when incubated at certain in between temps can actually mimic male behavior (and mabe look like them to a degree?) and they do not turn out to be good breeders. Might the same hold true here, or has anyone studied this? One last question, how common is a solid white tail in a female redback?

Thanks,
Perry

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