Blue tongue sexing, pics and behavioural observations

[hornet]

Ok i have 4 adult Eastern blueys, 2 i have had for a few weeks, 2 i got yesterday.

The 2 originals (No1 and No2) Were sexed as possibly male (No1) and Female (No2)
The 2 new specimens were gave to me as both male (No3 and No4)

Here are head and body shots of each
No1



No2



No3



No4



Now some behavioral observations.

No1 and No2 live together with no problems what so ever
I was told by the previous owners No3 and No4 do not get on at all so have been kept separately

When put together No1 and No2 pay no attention to each other what so ever

When together No3 and No4 both start hissing, puffing up, flattening their bodies, doing push ups and gape at each other.

When introduced to No1 and No2, No3 also acts aggressive but not to the point that it does with No4. It will hiss and attempt to bite but no puffing up and all the other jazz.

No4 on the other hand acts quite different to No1 and No2, was very very inquisitive and started nudging them both and licking them.

I havent been keeping blueys for long so am not sore what to make of it, hoping someone with more experience will have an idea on whats going on.

 

[Wild~Touch]

My original old Alpha female hates everyone except her husband. Will not allow another female in the house as I found out when I thought I could have a breeding trio
She could and will chase down and belt up anyone male or female, shes the blue mother from hell...but I love her
Cheers
Sandee

 

[hugsta]

Unfortunately Hornet the only way to gaurantee the sex of a blue tongue is when you see them giving birth, you know it is a demale then.

I don't know anyone who has a proven wa of sexing blue tongues, even Dr Glenn Shae who is a vet and also herpetologist who did his PhD on blueys says you can't possitively sex them.
Kinda sux really.

 

[hornet]

i know its never 100% but behavior (i have been told) gives you a pretty good idea

 

[rockdragon]

Good luck hornet, sounds like an ongoing challenge.
(stick with dragons easier to tell apart)

 

[Helikaon]

id say number 4 is a male. i still think 1 and 2 are a male female pair. 3 is a bit more questionable. you need a deffinite male who is nice and mating orientated. he will let you know. next tiem make a video of their interactions and make sure you only introduce one at a time to a male and that will tell you

 

[RoryBreaker]

Northern Blue tongues are easier to tell the difference . The male is on the left ,the one with the boofier head . The pics don't really show it but there are differences in the hip regions too ( females have wider hips). But it does help to have similarly sized animals side by side for the comparison in the first place .

View attachment 185635View attachment 185636View attachment 185638

Cheers,

 

[-Peter]

IMO... Captive behaviour is not a given for gender. Eastern bluetongues when kept together usually show no aggression outside mating periods. As you go north the attitude changes. The only way you can accuratley sex bluetongues by sighting external physical characteristics is by not really knowing too much about them. Glenn Shae used to sex by sight but it just became obvious that the specifiers were not exclusive to gender, ie, the more you know the harder it gets. As for Northerns, your deluding yourself.

 

[richardsc]

northerns are easier than easterns,at adult size ,but its not always 100 percent,some always confuse you,some are plain obvious though,others its just an educated guess

 

[ashisnothereman]

i read in an article in scales and tails that you can also look for hemipenal bulges above the cloaca. in the body (not tail) for mature blueys