SEXING YOUR IGUANA

First thing first, it is very important to know the difference and know what sex you have in order to care for your iguana properly. When it comes to breeding season they both require different care that you need to Br prepared for especially if you have a female.

Here are a few photos on my iguana to help sex a young iguana. Iguanas cannot be sexes when they are hatchlings, they need to be about a year to 18 months to begin being able to tell (unless they are DNA tested)

Look at the following picture first and try to guess what one is male and female before you scroll down. The following pictures shows the difference and what to look for.

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This photo shows Molly on the top and Pip on the bottom.

There are a couple things you can look for, one is the hemipenis bulge at the base of the tail. There will be a bulge on either side.

Secondly you can look for the femoral pores along the underside of the upper leg. Males have larger pores that travel from their vent to the knee while females pores may be large but most of the time they are smaller , there will only be a small number of them in a line close to the vent, about 3-6 pores.

 

The pores are very visible on a male during breeding season as they will get waxy plugs growing out of them, the male will then drag his back end as he walks rubbing some of the waxy substance off on the surface to spread around his territory. These lines are invisible for us to see however other iguanas (males or females) can see this clearly.

 

Due to these invisible lines having two males even in separate enclosures close to each other can stress them out because they will both be leaving markings while out in the same area.

 

 

So what's the big deal if you get a male or female? Or does it really matter?

Well it comes down to dealing with a gravid female and possible dystocia (egg binding), its very common to have happen to female iguana in captivity and unfortunately many igs die from this each year.

 

I have seen so many causes where an iguana has laid eggs and the owners are so shocked because they thought their ig was a male the whole time. Females in that situation often have low calcium levels since they weren't substituted enough extra during that time and this can result in MBD or they many not be strong enough to actually lay they eggs which leads into dystocia and since the owners have no idea she is gravid she gets no help and will pass away.

 

PLEASE SEX YOUR IGUANA AS SOON AS YOU CAN. If you want specifically a male or female please adopt a juvenile iguana that's old enough to be sexes properly so you can be 100% . If you are going to buy an iguana or adopt one always sex it yourself or have someone you know sex it, don't always trust what the ad says, I have seen many that are wrong and mislead new owners.

 

 

I am always available to help sex an iguana if you would like help, you can reach me on my instagram page the fasted or on Ontario Iguanas Facebook page. If you would like help please send me a photo similar to the one I have posted above.

 

 

Robin.