She's a He

Last night I decided to take the divider out that was separating Cyra and Gwyn. Cyra has almost caught up to Gwyn in size, and both are eating well. I watched their behavior as they approached one another so I could separate them if they fought. Fortunately they did not fight at all. Unfortunately I found out that Cyra is a male.

Both Gwyn and Cyra were temperature sexed as eggs to be females, but this is not 100% accurate. When I watched Cyra and Gwyn interact last night I knew right away what was on Cyra's mind. From what I had read about breeding Leopard Geckos all the signs were there that Cyra was ready to mate with Gwyn right then and their. First she smelled (licked) the air and approached Gwyn. Her tail tip moved back and forth so fast that it made a buzzing sound. She then proceeded to lightly bite Gwyn at the base of her tail and up her back. At this point Gwyn ran away and I put the divider back in place. If Gwyn had not run away they most likely would have mated. After a quick double check on a website about Leopard Gecko mating behaviors I was sure that I could not call Cyra a she anymore!

Next I checked the physical signs of male and female Leopard Geckos. These are not actual pictures of Cyra and Gwyn but this is what I saw.

This news is somewhat disappointing because I really wanted Cyra and Gwyn to share their tank. The cardboard divider was meant to be temporary. They could live together when breeding season is over, but I have read that this can stress them out. I am also concerned that the two have already mated. A week ago the divider got moved in the middle of the night and they were able to reach each other. They could have already mated at this time.

Just in case Gwyn and Cyra have already mated, I have ordered an incubator and some vermiculite. Although I would love babies, it is highly recommended that Leopard Geckos be at least a year old before mating. Also, there are possibilities of complications in egg laying that could hurt Gwyn.