Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so its 11:50and im trying to finish things up for tomorrow and I look over at my tank of 4 females and my biggest is trying to mate with a smaller one, biting on the neck and on top of it with looking like it was going to mount her and even did. She was seriously about to mate with her only one problem im positive both are girls ive had them for over 2 years and they both have produced eggs for me from a male that I have. I picked the nutty female up and her vent was redish in color and sort of open. what the hell is going on here? is someone performing gecko sex changes here?

>>is someone performing gecko sex changes here?

OK we lost the rest again. Although I've not seen this in females. It may well be a show of dominance to the smaller gecko.

Quig

Not that I have an answer for you, but I found this article a while back and your post reminded me about it. Note the second to last sentence.

Effects of testosterone on sexual behavior and morphology in adult female leopard geckos, Eublepharis macularius.

Rhen T, Ross J, Crews D.

Department of Zoology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78712, USA.

The leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius, is a species in which testosterone (T) is the primary circulating sex hormone in adults of both sexes. There are, however, sex differences in T physiology. Whereas males have prolonged periods with high T levels, T levels cycle in accord with follicular development in females. Specifically, T concentration increases during vitellogenesis, drops after ovulation, and then remains at previtellogenic levels until eggs are laid and the next follicular cycle begins. To determine the function of T in females, we manipulated both the level and the duration of T elevation using Silastic implants in intact, adult female leopard geckos. Females had low ( approximately 1 ng/ml), medium ( approximately 100 ng/ml), or high ( approximately 200 ng/ml) T levels for either a short (8 days) or a long (35 days) duration. Behavior tests with males were conducted on days 1-5 in the short-duration group or on days 29-33 in the long-duration group. For both short- and long-duration groups, T treatment decreased attractivity in females with medium and high T levels compared to females with low T levels. In contrast, females with a medium T level were more receptive than females with a low T level in the short-duration group. Females in the long-duration group were unreceptive regardless of T level. Females treated for a long duration also displayed more aggression toward and evoked more aggression from males than short duration females. Short-duration T treatment had no masculinizing effect on female morphology, whereas medium and high T levels for a long duration induced development of hemipenes. Overall, these results suggest that T can both increase and decrease sexual behaviors in the female leopard gecko.
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6.19.3 Leos
1.0.1 Red Ear Sliders
1.0 Pembroke Corgi
0.2 Cats
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