Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I first wanted to say thanks to Matt Bruner for my first Horridum....I am so stoked on it's character, beauty and it's ease to keep. I am a snake guy but can easily see myself keeping more of these guys in the future.

Question....How soon can you tell the sex of these guys?? What do you look for, can you probe, etc. I am looking forward to getting some more but would like to have a sexual pair....

Thought I would post a pic of my other somewhat new pet...my Cane Corso...I know there are a couple other large breed owners on here....

I recently got 2 baby reduced patterned beadeds from Matt- great guy to do business with. I'm no expert on sexing so I'm hoping someone can give you a better answer than I.

Chris at Gila Ranch can pop males at around 1 year old I believe... he's really good at it.

There's that endoscopy procedure where a veternarian makes a tiny cut and looks in with a small camera I believe that can guarantee sex 100% on animals- the guy from Maxim's Collection (hopefully I spelled that right) did it to the last part of his clutch he was selling so he could offer GUARANTEED SEXED ANIMALS.

My best guess would be at about a year old most breeders and long time experienced heloderm hobbyists could give you a good GUESS at sex if you posted a few clear photos... I'm hoping to do the same myself.

PLEASE correct me anyone if I'm wrong...

Good luck.

Graham

First of all nice beaded and what a bruiser Cane Corso.

I am relatively new to beadeds, between 1 and 2 years now, but have been breeding gilas for years. All of my beadeds are being grown from hatchlings and should soon be of a size where I am hoping I can try the same technique I use for gilas, which is ultrasound. I have been able to determine the sex of gilas at two years of age, possibly younger although I haven't bothered trying. I would hope the same would be true for beadeds but won't know until I try. It is really easy to tell the sex on a gila this way, looking for the testes in a male and the ovarian follicles in the female. I think with practice you may actually be able to tell at an earlier age by looking for hemipenes in the tail, although this remains to be seen.

Other than that I have no 100% acurate way to tell the sex. By morphology I might be 85% acurate and then social interactions may raise that percentage. However I have gilas that don't fit the "rule" and have seen beadeds do the same.

If you have access to an ultrasound this may be the less envasive option as endoscopy is actually a surgical procedure. I would imagine the anatomy is similar and will probably know for sure by the end of this year.

I am sure someone else has probably already tried and could probably give you a definite answer.

Once again nice animals (both of them)

Kevin

Thanks guys.....I really appreciate the quick responses and info.

It appears for now I am just going to have to buy more of these guys so that my odds of hitting a sexual pair are good.....hope the wifey doesn't mind!

They are definitely an addiction!!!

.

Thanks!!

Well looking at the picture of your Cane Corso, I'd say its a boy LOL....

Beadeds are tough, I have been working with them for the past 6 years or so (with private colony)and a few more held in institutions before that. I have animals from several breeders who have only told me what is already known; males tend to have larger heads, bigger front paws, and longer tails. Females tend to be smaller, have a smaller head, and less of a bulge in the vent region. Popping them probably doesnt work all the time, and unless one has done it successfully MANY times, its all suspectum to me...Ultrasound seems plausible, Ive done it with mine and if there is any truth in it, I believe my group came out as 2.3 (I have two more yearlings from Angeli that are ??? still). They are VERY cool animals so welcome to the club!
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Cheers
Lateralis
"I would rather be precisely wrong than approximately right"
Marion "Doc" Ford

Nice pics! Your dog seems pretty "excited" about something... lol

In my experience beadeds are more difficult than gilas to sex visually, but as others have said males tend to have a wider head, and generally get to larger overall sizes. Females tend to have a shorter tail in relation to their body length (as compared to the males), but all of these things are very subtle, and can be unreliable.

Watching behavior is another good clue. I have what I believe are 2.2 beadeds from Bob Applegate's 2003 hatch. When I put either of the "females" with either of the "males," the "females" get chased around the cage while the "male" attempts to mount them (I've left them together in hopes of getting a good breeding, but no results so far). When I put the two "females" together they pretty much ignore each other. When I put the "males" together they immediately go at it, pushing each other around, rolling around the cage trying to flip each other over, etc.

Aside from laproscopy, or ultrasound there is also a method of injecting sterile saline into the base of the tail and causing the hemipenes to evert. When done properly it does not harm the animal at all, but it should only be done by a vet familiar with the procedure. I have heard rumors that it is not a completely reliable method.

Thanks fellas...that is the info I was looking for...I appreciate it.