# sexing/spurs



## rigo (Nov 11, 2007)

I know that male B&W have spurs at the base of their tail, but i'd like to know when they become visible enough to allow "accurate" sexing. Currently my juvi b/w has no real visible spurs but i can feel two little bumps on each side of his? tail. do females have smaller non-visible spurs or no spurs at all? thanks for any info!


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## PuffDragon (Nov 12, 2007)

anyone have an answer to this? i have been wondering the same thing


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## Mike (Nov 12, 2007)

How big are your animals? You can feel it at juvenile, but I'd say at 25 inches, if there are no spurs, it's a female. Females have NO spurs at all. I'll try to get some pics up if mine come out of hibernation for me.

You can always get it probed, but I don't like to.


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## PuffDragon (Nov 12, 2007)

Fason is only 11 inches so I guess I have to wait?


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## rigo (Nov 12, 2007)

he is just over 2 feet long, (bit of a guess, but he is a nice size
). the bumps are definitely noticeable, i will try to get some pics up hoprefully within a day or two


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## DaveDragon (Nov 13, 2007)

Here's our male Red. Notice the bumps near the vent.






Our 8 month old B&W (about 25" long) doesn't have any bumps yet so I'm assuming he's a she.


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## VARNYARD (Nov 13, 2007)

Sometimes these buttons show up at about three feet long, however, I have seen tegus with the start of buttons at two feet long. I high lighted the buttons.






This is an adult female, note she has no buttons.


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## PuffDragon (Nov 13, 2007)

you guys are a great help! thanks alot.


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## COWHER (Nov 13, 2007)

my tegu is 26 inches and i see no bumps do i have a girl???? heres a under side pic.


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## VARNYARD (Nov 13, 2007)

Well judging by the clocal buttons/spurs, it looks like a female.


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## Alek (Aug 7, 2008)

So you are saying you will see or feel nothing at all on the females If so when do the jawls kick in.


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## laurarfl (Aug 8, 2008)

Heh, heh, you found my link!  My Varnyard girl is about 26" and has no spurs. If I feel without looking (she's squirmy), I can imagine I feel them, but it's probably part of the bone structure of the pelvic girdle.

Bobby sent me a pic of a male about the same age/size and he isn't especially jowly, but a just a little heavier in the neck than the girls. I'd like to hear more about this, too.

A hijacking question...males have a darker nose, correct? Is that true with reds as well? When does that show up?


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## mr.tegu (Feb 18, 2009)

well im glad im not the only one that remains confused about this topic. i understand that females will not have buttons or bumps at all. my tegu is 29 inches long and is not showing buttons or bumps, but it seems to me that the neck of my tegu is extremely saggy and would appear to be starting the jowl process. although my tegu is only around 4 maybe 5 months old and i have read that jowls dont kick in until around a year old. i am assuming my tegu is 4 or 5 months old due to the fact that i bought it in mid october of 08 and it was only 10 inches long total lenght. when i do try and rub the tail to find the b.b. size bumps my tegu almost seems to tighten or flex that part of the tail and i cant feel anything besides muscle. WILL SOMEONE WITH KNOWLEDGE PLEASE GO INTO MORE DETAILED ABOUT THIS ISSUE. thanks in advance.


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## crimsonrazac (Feb 19, 2009)

I'm not really sure but I'v been told the buttons don't show up till around 8 months of age.


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## DaveDragon (Feb 19, 2009)

crimsonrazac said:


> I'm not really sure but I'v been told the buttons don't show up till around 8 months of age.


That can't be right since many Tegu will go into hibernation a few weeks after hatching and won't grow for 4 to 8 months.

It must be based size, but tubinambis on the tegu.com brought up the point it's based on sexual maturity which must be a combination of age and size. 

And the mystery continues!!! :doh


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## mr.tegu (Feb 24, 2009)

LOL.... well if the teg skipped hibro then maybe 6 or 8 months would work for spurs. I DUNNO (keep it going)


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## mr.tegu (Mar 3, 2009)

We needed this topic bumped for more information on sexing. Bobby says around 3 feet but sometimes at 2 feet you can see/feel the buttons. If a tegu skips hybro then getting 3 feet would only take 4 maybe 5 months. So are the buttons/spurs a sign of sexual maturity or strickly size specific?


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## Quijibo (Sep 21, 2009)

OK, so I'll be guilty of digging up an old post. 

On the spur/bump thing. Has anyone figured out if it's more age (maturity) or size? I've read a few posts that say around 2'+ you should see the spurs. Jango is just over 25", but he's about a week shy of 3 months old. I don't see spurs, but he is pretty fat so I'm wondering if he(?) just has to get a little pubescent before they show.


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## reptastic (Sep 21, 2009)

Quijibo said:


> OK, so I'll be guilty of digging up an old post.
> 
> On the spur/bump thing. Has anyone figured out if it's more age (maturity) or size? I've read a few posts that say around 2'+ you should see the spurs. Jango is just over 25", but he's about a week shy of 3 months old. I don't see spurs, but he is pretty fat so I'm wondering if he(?) just has to get a little pubescent before they show.



i have been wondering the same thing since nero is closing in on 24" i feel the bead in his vent area but no spurs and he seems to be showing signs of jowls or maybe im just seeing things lol maybe ill see them when he hits 30"+ but im 75% sure he is a he


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## Quijibo (Sep 22, 2009)

Aye. Jango is getting a little jowley also. He's pretty fat so I just wrote it off as "Fluffyness".
:-D


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## honda22 (Sep 22, 2009)

I looked at the underside of my tegu and i dont see any spurs and when are they able to breed?


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## reptastic (Sep 22, 2009)

honda22 said:


> I looked at the underside of my tegu and i dont see any spurs and when are they able to breed?



well they dont show up til around 2-2 1/2' and as for breeding age i belive it is 2 y/o for a male and 3 for a female


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## Quijibo (Sep 28, 2009)

Jango is 30" now and still no spurrs. I was on TheTegu.com and Tupinambus mentioned that their head shapes are a little different also. Males have a little longer snout and females tend to be blunter, more of an eqilateral shape. After pouring over pics of both (got nuthin' better to do) there does seem to be a difference. The females look a little more... well... feminine.
Is this also a trait that shows up around sexual maturity, or is it dependant on size? 
Jango's head looks like the female's heads to me. Could explain the absence of spurrs.

Maybe it's time for a name change..... I've always liked Elvira. :drool


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## PuffDragon (Sep 28, 2009)

> Males have a little longer snout and females tend to be blunter, more of an eqilateral shape. After pouring over pics of both (got nuthin' better to do) there does seem to be a difference. The females look a little more... well... feminine.



This may or may not be the case but I tend to disagree. I have 2 males and their overall head shape is very different. If I were to go by this the one would be a female. But being as he has spurs and I have seen his hemipenes and sperm plugs I know it's a male. I think each tegu have it's unique characteristics but at a young age you can't go by head shape alone. 

As for the spurs on mine they started showing up around 28-30 inches.


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## Quijibo (Sep 28, 2009)

I found a few pics of males that looked a little more blunted. I kinda figure the head shape is like the jowls. Some look like Men, some look like boys. Jango's head looks a little wider than most also. I haven't found anyone yet that has or had a Gu that was Jango's size at 3 months so it's really hard for me to say that he is a she just because he isn't showing spurrs yet. If most Gu's reach 24" at 6 months, and also get spurrs at 6 months, then it's easy to say they get spurrs at 24". I hope he does get spurrs just because I'm curious as to what age he gets them as opposed to size. If he keeps growing the way he is, he should be close to 4' by then. I expect his growth will start slowing tho. He's already at the size that most start showing spurrs, but he's still very young. 
I honestly don't care if he's a male or female. He's beautiful and has a phenominal personality. The whole spurr thing is mostly for my own curiosity.

Thanks for your input Puff, I was hoping someone would respond that saw something differently.


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## jd61285 (Oct 1, 2009)

Hey guys, I just saw Captain's giant and mine looks like his tegu's twin. I took a picture of the goods and was wondering if you could tell me if you think it's a male or female. Thanks!


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## DaveDragon (Oct 1, 2009)

I don't see any bumps (on either side of the vent) like our Red. I'd say he is a she!


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## jd61285 (Oct 1, 2009)

Thats what i was thinking. Like usual the wife is right he is now princess Xerxes. Thanks Dave


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## Christina (Oct 29, 2009)

So, my new baby is approximtely one year old and I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to hibernate him/her. Anyway, the research I've done indicates that hibernation is more important for a female than a male and being as I just got the little monster I selfishly don't want him/her to go nighty night for six or so months. ANYWAY, to make a short story long, I was hoping you guys can help me with some idea of gender. Here are the pictures I got...





















Thanks, everyone!!


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## Quijibo (Oct 29, 2009)

Girl. If you're not going to breed her, I wouldn't bother hibe'n her.


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## TanMan57 (Oct 29, 2009)

Quijibo said:


> Jango is 30" now and still no spurrs. I was on TheTegu.com and Tupinambus mentioned that their head shapes are a little different also. Males have a little longer snout and females tend to be blunter, more of an eqilateral shape. After pouring over pics of both (got nuthin' better to do) there does seem to be a difference. The females look a little more... well... feminine.
> Is this also a trait that shows up around sexual maturity, or is it dependant on size?
> Jango's head looks like the female's heads to me. Could explain the absence of spurrs.
> 
> Maybe it's time for a name change..... I've always liked Elvira. :drool


Well im not sure, Zeros is long and pointy and Xanders was more bluned like you said and ive seen that in tegus that bobby sends out. If he guesses there a girl the heads look a little shorter and when there supposed to be a guy its longer. I dont know im mot an expert. Maybe it just depends. Bobby is the expert


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## Christina (Oct 29, 2009)

Quijibo said:


> Girl. If you're not going to breed her, I wouldn't bother hibe'n her.



If I AM going to breed her (albeit not this year or next but the year after) then should I still 'put her under'?


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## DaveDragon (Oct 30, 2009)

You do not decide if they're going to hibernate, they do. Our 8 year old male Red went down a month ago in a room that is 75 to 80 degrees.

Also, it isn't proven that they need to hibernate to successfully breed. Our Blues have never hibernated and we've had fertile clutches the last 2 years.


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## Kingjaffejo (Oct 30, 2009)

> Also, it isn't proven that they need to hibernate to successfully breed. Our Blues have never hibernated and we've had fertile clutches the last 2 years.



Thats encouraging to hear!


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## Christina (Oct 30, 2009)

DaveDragon said:


> You do not decide if they're going to hibernate, they do. Our 8 year old male Red went down a month ago in a room that is 75 to 80 degrees.
> 
> Also, it isn't proven that they need to hibernate to successfully breed. Our Blues have never hibernated and we've had fertile clutches the last 2 years.



Thanks so much for that info!!! I'm used to breeding snakes and I am most definitely the one who decides whether or not they're brumating. So far my girl doesn't seem overly inclined to hibernate so I'll keep a close eye on her eating/sleeping behaviour and go from there. You've eased some considerable anxiety for me so again, thank you.


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## simon021 (Oct 30, 2009)

Christina said:


> DaveDragon said:
> 
> 
> > You do not decide if they're going to hibernate, they do. Our 8 year old male Red went down a month ago in a room that is 75 to 80 degrees.
> ...



So what do you do to keep your reptiles from hibernating?


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## Christina (Oct 30, 2009)

simon021 said:


> Christina said:
> 
> 
> > DaveDragon said:
> ...




If you don't substantially (albeit gradually) reduce a snake's temperatures and light cycle, it doesn't brumate. Some snakes won't breed succesfully without brumating, some snakes don't seem to mind.


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## simon021 (Oct 31, 2009)

Christina said:


> If you don't substantially (albeit gradually) reduce a snake's temperatures and light cycle, it doesn't brumate. Some snakes won't breed succesfully without brumating, some snakes don't seem to mind.



Right, but I'm asking about the tegu. This doesnt seem to be the case with tegus, as we have had many members' tegus go down for hibernation in enclosures that are over 80 degrees. I would prefer my tegu does not hibernate, and initially when he went down for a week, I woke him up on about day 8. Since then he has been up for a few days, down for a few days, up for a few days, down for a few days. But the days he's up, he's been eating a bit here and there, although nothing even close to his usual appetite. I was just curious if you had successfully kept a Tegu from breeding, and what exactly you did. I think if I had my gu in a room with no windows it would be much easiier


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## Christina (Oct 31, 2009)

simon021 said:


> Right, but I'm asking about the tegu. This doesnt seem to be the case with tegus, as we have had many members' tegus go down for hibernation in enclosures that are over 80 degrees. I would prefer my tegu does not hibernate, and initially when he went down for a week, I woke him up on about day 8. Since then he has been up for a few days, down for a few days, up for a few days, down for a few days. But the days he's up, he's been eating a bit here and there, although nothing even close to his usual appetite. I was just curious if you had successfully kept a Tegu from breeding, and what exactly you did. I think if I had my gu in a room with no windows it would be much easiier




Oooooh, this is actually my first tegu so I have no idea! Hopefully one of the experienced keepers can chime in.


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## DaveDragon (Oct 31, 2009)

As I said before, the Tegu will hibernate if he wants. He may not stay down for months, and come up every few days, but they (even the Blues) will at least slow down their eating, basking and activity. 

This is great info. http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=826


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## reptastic (Dec 19, 2009)

well i have been trying to see if there are any differences that an amatuer like myself can see in a young tegu. both of my tegus are 5 1/2 mo. the female is now 40" and the male is only 18". i was looking at old pics of the female when she was that size, and the only differnce i can visibly see is the female when she was that size she was thicker body-wise and tail-wise. im sure if this is due to the fact that the male has been under and not eating and the female has been up and eating. maybe oneday ill be able to sex hatchling like bobby


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