Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I have a young female PTS and have been looking for a male and possibly another female. I have been looking since before I even got her. I have found a few places that have PTS, but only a few look godd. I am thinking about Regal Reptiles. THey have pics of their skinks, and they look pretty good. Has anyone ever delt with them before? Even better, has anyone ever BOught a PTS from them? They have a couple of skinks that caught my eye. Brian, could you possibly use the C/A Biometric thingy on them? THey havee their pics at http://www.regalreptile.com/requested_pix.htm
They are about half way down the page. THey are labels #4 and #5. #7 looks like my female, so maybe that one would be good to get. They look very pretty and lokk healthy. If you could possibly do that, I would really appreciate it. I know that is not a sure thing for sexing, but it will give me some idea.
While I have your attention everybody, why is it that most places can't sex their PTS? I know it is a difficult species to sex, but it is not impossible, I have done it. If you can make do a manual eversion of the hemipenes on a BTS, you can at the very least make an educated guess with a PTS. Do you think people would try it if I asked? I know it can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, but I assue someone who works at a store that sell herps would know how to do this. Thank you everyone for your help, Josh

What I have heard with this species (unlike some of the other skink types and many reptiles in general), is manual eversion is well near impossible in an awake adult due to their great strength. It is more likely to injure the animal that evert a hemipene. I have heard some claims of being able to evert neonates and juveniles with less difficulty, but I have never seen this done- and would not want to attempt it myself. I did see someone try to evert a hemipene in an adult PTS at a 'good' reptile shop several years ago, and the result after much struggle on the PTS's part was they couldn't evert much- so was it a female or a resisting male? Who knows....
Probing is done in many reptiles, but I have also heard that it is not recommended in this species- I do not know the physiological reason behind it, but would avoid this procedure as well due to possible harm- don't want to accidentally damage reproductive structures! I also have never heard scale/scute values for probing in this species, so even if one did it- who knows whether the number would be meaninful.
So we are left with the numerous other techniques which are helpful but none are a 'quarantee', and some can only be done after the animal is bought and home with you. So give it your best guess, and if you end up with another female- consider keeping her and continue looking for a male?
cheers, Jess b

When I got my juvenile PTS (at about 1 year old) I took him to a friend of mine and together we were able to evert his hemipenes (my friend is the curator of a reptile department at a decent sized zoo so it's safe to say she's *very* experienced at manual eversion). We also tried to "pop" my adult PTS. We were not successful and we were definitely left to rely on other methods to determine "her" gender.

-Z

LEEWAY CORUCIA RESEARCH CENTER (LCRC)

Yes, I and others have found Probing and everting totally inconclusive with this species. I am totally against it and haven't tried it myself since 2000.

Jess, Very nice post other than the above comment, I wouldn't add a thing.

Jbl, I would need more info to find your Regal pics to do the C/A. It sounds like your set-up with Info from Z, but if you still need info from me. Post more info on the pics-how to get to them.

Sincerely,
Brian
LCRC

.

Brian, I asked Regal for some pictures of the skinks I am interested in. Until I get them, I can give you the pictures off their web site. I can't seem to save their pics to my computer, so I can give you the links to work off of. There are three that caught my eye:
Skink#4 http://www.regalreptile.com/monkey tail 4 12-9-03.jpg
Skink#5 http://www.regalreptile.com/monkey tail 5 12-9-03.jpg
Skink#7 http://www.regalreptile.com/monkey tail 7 12-9-03.jpg

I am not sure if you can work off these pictures as they are poor quality. I would really appreciate your help. You can look at their other PTS pics on regal reptile web site on their "requested Picture" page. Thanks for all the help, Josh

I am curious- how was your new baby sexed? My oldest three PTS offspring all looked female as juveniles, and now as they age are sexing male by Brian's ratio. One is acting male, and two are not showing and tendencies yet. The two newborns look female due to skinny heads and fat bodies- but that changes as they mature.
pix is of 2 year old Bletcher (ratio says male) and two un-named newborns (unknown sex- ratio says female, but probably not reliable in these little ones)
Cheers, Jess b

I've never bought anything from Regal Reptiles, but I have visited the shop and Shawn even loaned me a baby American Alligator (once I showed him the proper permits!) for use in an educational exhibit. I can't say enough good things about Shawn and his staff. They are willing to help and have been very knowledgeable when I've spoken to them. I've also never heard negative comments about their business dealings. In fact, when I was in the shop a few years ago Shawn allowed some kid to return an animal just because he had gotten tired of it! I don't remember the deal they worked out and I have no idea if this is still allowed, but I was very impressed at the time.

However, they are importers, and as such not all of their animals are in the best condition. It's been several years since I was in the shop, but the conditions were a bit overcrowded IMO and many of the imports were looking rough. However, all animals were clean and had food and water and appropriate climate conditions, which is much more than I can say for most shops.

So, you're buying CBB, right?

-Z

Jess, I sexed her my a maual eversion of the hemipenes, or lack there of. I used the book by Philipe de Vosjoli as a guide as well as prior experience. I did this at 4-5 months of age, which is generally the time at which you can first determine sex. If there was a pair of hemipenes in there, I think I would have found them. She is quite stout and has a somewhat skinny head. Am I 100% of her being female, no. But I am fairly certain that she is, well, a she. I plan on trying the manual eversion of the hemipenes soon, possibly at a year old or so. SHe is now near 7 months.
Zeteki, Thanks for the info on Regal. They sounded like a good place. I even talked to Shawn and he sounded nice. But to have someone that has actually been there is great. I am still thinking about wheter or not to buy CBB. I do not know if the CB they have are neonates born from gravid imports, or actually born from captive breeding.

THanks for the help, Josh
P.S. Did anyone check out the pictures on their web site? THey are very cute.