Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive got a trio that were sold to me as being the same age, but 2 are much larger now (have had them ~6 wks) didnt know if that may tell sexes, or if its just the "runt" the small one has also droped its tail, dont know is that has anything to do with it. if i need to i can put the little one in a home of its own, but would rather not, i just make sure i let him get more food then the others for now
thanks for any input!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

With Crested geckos size is no indication of sex, there are females larger than males and vice versa. If two are growing and one is not it may be a sign of them bulling each other around the food dish, but there is no real way to know this unless you watch to make sure they are all eating and poo-ing, a tricky task if they are all in the same tank. The littler one should probably get a home of his/her own.

I, personally, would separate all of them, they know they're sexes before we and an even if you take the little one out, the two left may be a male/male or male/female and cause each other problems. This also allows for easier monitoring of food and such things.

Sounds like at least one is very stressed. Separate them all for now.

How old are these crested geckos? Males have very distinct hemepenial bulges and females do not, it is very easy to sex these geckos once they are 9 months old or older. There are other ways to do so before hand but not as accurate or easy.

img383.imageshack.us/img383/180/sexageadultesciliatusjg4.png

This pictures shows quite plainly how to sex crested geckos.
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PHLdyPayne

im not sure how old they were when i got them, but they are still tiny, the size of my little finger w/out tails.
ive had geckos for years (leos and fat tails) just new to cresteds and dint know if size could be a hint for gender.
i have been using a dropper to be sure the little one gets food for sure, if the size difference gets bigger ill give it a home of its own for a while.
thanks for the input!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

Honesty, I'd give it a home of it's own now. (Same for the other two, as already mentioned.) A dropped tail means someone is not playing nice, and not feeding on it's own is a cause for worry. Over stressing, like from living with bully geckos, can also lead to MBD issues.

i agree with whats posted already, but theres no urgency in it. you most likely have 2 males. people will always rip you off if they can. look under the geckos. if theres things that resemble male reproductive organs, its a male, without is a female. the size difference is stress, i have no doubt there. cresties dont drop their tails unless they have no choice. ive never had one which wasnt attacked, or picked on drop its tail. they need to be seperated, because you have one gecko being very agressive towards its tank mates. again, its not a id rather not seperate anymore. the amount of food isnt an option of worry. its the gecko killing the other. it will happen unless acted upon.

Unless you have a far larger pinky finger than I do (and my hands are big compared to most women I know), it sounds like your geckos are around 4-8 months old. My pinky from tip to last knuckle is about 2.5" and since tails are about same length as body, your gecko will be about 5" Still not fully grown..so 4-8 months should be about right...

Be easier to tell if you measure your pinky finger

Typically between ages 6-9 months the male has obvious hemipenial bulges just past the vent. Females may have a slight single bump but most are very noticable 'flat'.

A good breeder or at least somebody experienced at doing it and having a 8x jeweler's loop (or similar) can sex geckos by counting the rows of pores along the underside of the thighs and above the vent. I don't remember for sure how many rows (look like scales with pinholes in the middle) males have compared to females..but I think its three rows for males, one or two for females.

There is some size/weight difference between adult males and adult females but this is not a hard sure way to tell, especially when males who are over 9 months are quite obviously male in a much clearer fashion than the slight difference in size they are compared to females.

For now, separate all your geckos and keep them separated for a good 6 months if not more... shouldn't start breeding till females are at least 30 grams (35 grams or more is better) and a year old. Though if one of the females is the one who lost her tail, may be harder to tell when she is the right weight..as the tail has its own weight.

It may be a good idea to get in contact with the person you bought the geckos from and ask how old they are. Then keep them separate till they are at least a year old...

Though others have indicated two males are likely what you ended up with, this isn't necessarily true. If the geckos are all immature, they could simply just be fighting for food and stressed out. Females can fight each other and males just as much as males can with each other and other males. However, adult males definitely should not be housed together. Very large tanks with plenty of visual barriers theoretically could house more than one male and many females...but these cages tend to be quite a bit larger than needed for just a single male with the same number of females...easier to just have individual cages set up for each breeding group.
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PHLdyPayne