Sexing your dragon


It is not that easy to determine the sex of a bearded dragon. There are some people that can sex a very young dragon but most people have to wait until they are sexually mature to be sure. If you are sexing them "too early" it is easy to mistake a male for a female. It is hard to say exactly how old a dragon has to be to be sexually mature - it depends of how fast it has grown. It can be as early as 5 months. But remember - just because they are sexually mature does not mean that you should breed them. It is way to early at an age of 5 months! You should wait until they are at least 18 months before you breed your dragons. It is actually dangerous (especially for the female) to breed too early, since their bodies aren't fully developed.

Lift the tail
If you want to sex your dragon, place it in your hand with the head facing away from you. Carefully lift the tail up to approximately 90 degrees. Be very careful - it is easy to bend too much and hurt your dragon! It is easiest to do this when your dragon is warm and relaxed.

Two "bumps" = male
Look at the underside of the tail. If you see two separate bulges above the vent "along the tail" it is a male. See picture below. A male dragon has two "penises" and they are called hemipenes.

One "bump" = female
If you see only one bump in the middle you probably have a female. See picture below. But a female can also be quite "flat".

More differences
A sexually mature male has more visible femoral glands than the female. You find the femoral glands on the inside/underside of the thigh. As the male become sexually mature the glands gets more pronounced. The female has them too - but not as notable.

You can also look at the shape of the head to tell the difference. A male usually has a broader head, a blacker beard and is more dominant.

But… Most of the signs aren't completely reliable. A female can also get a very black beard, have a broad head and be bigger than a male. A female can also be more dominant than a male… So you just have to look at all the signs to determine the sex of your dragon.

Fertilization
At fertilization the males hemipenes closest to the females vent becomes erected and he put it inside her vent. One single mating can result in several clutches of eggs. The female can also save the sperm in her ovary for a long time. See pictures of mating at "Babies - mating & egglaying".


Male. Photo Gunilla ©
Male



Female. Photo Gunilla ©
Female





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