Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Years ago, after loosing 2 expensive hookbills during the surgical sexing procedure, I discovered a dna sexing service located in california. They were inexpensive and the procedure caused no stress to the birds (only required to pull a pin feather). I recently wrote them to ask if they provided the service for monitors. they said the only 2 reptiles they currently can test are iguanas and komodo dragons. Now i do not get the iguanas test because there is no need for it as they are easily sexed and i can understand that a group or organization probable financed the initial set-up on the komodos for research purposes but how much business could that possibly bring them. She said that the cost of the initial set-up would not be a good investment on the potential return so there is no plans on adding any other reptiles at the moment. It sure would be nice if someone knew of a lab out there that did do dna sexing and if so please give me a yell. It sure would prevent the ever present potential for wasting time by having a group of same sex monitors together.

There is only a small problem with this, at this point is has not worked on monitors.

Yes, it may work on adults, but as you mentioned with iggies, there is no real need as adults are easy to tell the sexes on. Unless your unexperienced.

Its fresh hatchlings that are the problem. There has not been a single method that has proven to be correct, with fresh hatchlings. I use the term "fresh" because, saying hatchlings has no real difinition. Hatchlings can be one year olds that have not had growing conditions, which is common.

There was this gila fella that promoted dna testing at one time. He came over and want to know if I was interested. Of course I ask if it had worked for him. He said yes, I then asked if he had tested it. He said, what? I said, you know, actually hatched babies, had bloodtests done and then raised them up to see if it worked. He said no. And I have never heard of it again. Sorta the same deal. Its not old scientific paradigm, testing, it must actually be tested to work, not work in theory. They did find markers, therefore in theory it should have worked. But in practice, it did not work, or at least so far. Maybe its as simple as finding different markers.

As you mentioned, its not the adults(after being raised) that are the problem, its hatchlings. At this time, I have not seen or heard or witnesses any method that works without fail, on hatchlings.

For about ten years now, and several hundred groups, as long as we raise hatchlings in groups of two or more, we have without fail, recieved both sexes. But then, that is not enough numbers nor has it been done in such a way to call it scientific, to many variables. Please consider, the majority of these groups were with two individuals. There is also the possibility that I am extremely lucky.

This method was exposed many years ago by a friend. Since that time, its been twisted, spun, tweaked, etc. For instance people say, if you raise 3 you will always get 1.2. That may have been there experience, but it surely has not been mine. I did raise 34 hatchling ackies in a single cage and they came out, 17.17, I indeed found that odd and interesting. FR

I love those pictures..
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1.0 Savannah Monitor - Artimus
2.0 Emerald Swift - Jesus, unnamed
1.0 Baby veiled Cham - Sir August De Winter 1-20-05 RIP
1.0 Green Iguana - King Arthur
1.0 Rose-hair tarantula - Bill
1.0 Basilisk - Adam
0.1 Water Dragon - Lady

Heres a beautiful lacie hatching, I find this picture amazing. A little nose entering the world and with such beatiful colors.

And heres how I get so lucky, right under the rainbow is my monitor building and more specifically the incubator room.

But then as with all things luck runs out, here I am in the middle of the blacksoil plains in central queensland, Au. wondering where, how, and what the heck I am doing. Side note. I am staring at my last granola bar.

Do you want to see some pics of me, on TV programs, you know the fake reptile ones? (I was a kid)

is that what is is known as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? cool pic.

Talk to other places they all seem to say the samething, Iguanas and Komodos.

Seems to get it going it takes cash, and alot of test subjects of known sex. Then they have a base to go from to test. Atleast this is what 3 places had told me I wrote to a few years ago.

wouldn't that be a great project for a herp society to undertake(to raise funds to help pay the cost of initial set-up and help keep the testing for fellow herpers low and affordable and increase the chances for production). Especially on some of the harder to sex, rarer and newly described species that need to be established in captivity.