5 Extremely Easy Ways To Sex Your Crested Gecko

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If you’re like me, you cannot wait to find out if your new crested gecko is a boy or a girl! (Or if you’re REALLY like me… you really just want to know if your crested gecko is a boy or a girl so you know if you can name him Ganon and complete your Triforce of animals. *Breathe*) Ahem. Well, then you’re in luck because today I am going to tell you about 5 extremely easy ways to sex your new crested gecko!

First and foremost, you should allow your new crested gecko to acclimate to its new home prior to handling. Don’t stress out your crested gecko just for the sake of figuring out if it’s a boy or a girl.

1. By Eyesight – Depending on the age

Depending on how old your crested gecko is, you may be able to tell the gender just by looking at it! Newly hatched crested geckos typically weigh around 1-2 grams and you can sex your crested gecko usually around 8 – 16 grams (roughly 6 months of age). Naturally, the older your crested gecko is, the easier it is going to be to determine if it’s a boy or a girl. If your gecko is less than 10 grams, it might be best just to wait until it gets older to determine the gender.

If your gecko is less than 10 grams, it might be best just to wait until it gets older to determine the gender.

Male crested geckos will have a long line of “pores” above their vent between their back two legs. Pores can be identified as little dark dots in the center of the scales and can appear shiny. It’s not uncommon for females to have some of these pores as well, but male crested geckos will have a lot more and it will stretch across their stomach from one leg to the next.

Ganon weighs approximately 41 grams in this photo so you can see that the “bulge” is very visible.

Two Common Misconceptions

Some people say you can tell the sex of your crested gecko based on the prominent appearance of “spurs”, which are the two white little pointy things attached to the bulge below their vent. This is a common misconception because every crested gecko is built differently and some females have larger than normal spurs, so using the appearance of spurs alone is not an accurate method.

The size of the bulge. Another common misconception. While this is generally true, it usually only applies to older crested geckos that have reached sexual maturity (1-2 years old). It can be difficult to tell the sex of your gecko if it is very young based on just looking at the size of the bulge. If this is the case for you, keep reading ’cause I still have a solution!

2. Ask the Breeder or Store

If you got your new crested gecko from a private breeder, they should be able to provide you with the hatching date if the gecko wasn’t sexed prior to you receiving it. Based on the hatching date, you can choose the best approach to take on how to determine the sex of your crested gecko.

Sometimes the pet store already knows the age/hatching date or sex of a reptile when they receive them. If you got your new crested gecko from a pet store and they are unsure of the exact gender or age, you can ask when they received it and make a rough guess on their age from that information as well as their current weight.

Which is exactly what I did with our crested gecko, Ganon. The place where I got him was unsure of his age or sex at the time but I asked when they received him and that information in combination with his weight at the time (8 grams), I was able to guesstimate that he was approximately 5-6 months old. I then used my next step: a jeweler’s loupe!

3. Use a Jewelers Loupe

I know it sounds funny but a jewelers loupe actually works. If you don’t just have one laying around, you can find some very inexpensive ones on Amazon* that are at least 10x magnification.

Some people have had luck just using a magnifying glass or the zoom feature on a really good camera but that wasn’t the case with me. Using a jewelers loupe that I got on Amazon*, I was able to see very clearly that Ganon was, in fact, a boy! And the best part is, I didn’t even have to take him out of his tank to do it. I just placed the jeweler’s loupe on the glass where he was clinging and was able to see perfectly.


This picture is of Ganon when he was 8 grams and as you can see, there is a long line of pores!

4. Ask your Exotic Vet

Another great option is by asking your Exotic Vet! You should always take any new animal to an experienced veterinarian and while you’re there, they can go ahead and take a gander and see if your new baby is a boy or a girl! If your crested gecko is still very young, they may just give you a rough guess.

5. Ask me!

I am not an expert by any means but if you want a friendly opinion, I am more than happy to help! Just shoot me a comment down below!

Another option is to ask a friend or relative that has experience with crested gecko’s or you can even look online and find a good crested gecko forum and post your question there.

And there you have it! You should now be able to finally sex your crested gecko! Let me know down in the comments below if your new crested gecko is a boy or a girl and what you named it =)

*This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. We do not recommend any products that we have not or would not use personally.

42 thoughts on “5 Extremely Easy Ways To Sex Your Crested Gecko”

  3. They said that my created gecko was female I’d like to make sure before I get another female so I don’t end up with babies lol

    1. I recommend quarantining them until you can make sure that your new crestie doesn’t have parasites and is healthy before introducing them together. During this time, your geckos will grow which will make it easier to know for a fact that both crested geckos are female 🙂

  4. Hi, I bought a Crested Gecko (Fico-Italian for Fig) for my 13 year old Granddaughter for her birthday. Pet shops (PETCO & Pet Smart) are useless when it comes to hatch dates. I did A LOT of reading before purchasing him. The guy at PETCO actually told me I knew more than he did about them. He was also a bit afraid. Luckily I was and when Fico took off across the tanks I scooped him up under his arms and into my hands. I could tell right away he was a male and purchased him. August 13th he was gifted to Bella I had him for 3 weeks prior. Had him all set up and acclimated to his environment. Bella waited a week after she got him and they seemed to immediately bond. He is very calm and actually sits by her next to the lap top. She is either a natural Crested Whisperer OR I purchased a Crested that was pre-owned and returned to PETCO. Who then made another profit reselling it to ME for $60.
    NOW, here is my dilemma. We did a weigh in he has to be 5-6 mo. old but only weighed in at 2.2 Grams!!?? I weighed him 3 times. Something is wrong! He looks and acts healthy. What could be wrong. Can you help?

    1. Hi Marcia,

      Thank you so much for doing all of your research prior to getting your granddaughter a crested gecko. I wish there were more people like you! 2.2 grams is very small for a 5-6-month-old crested gecko. Crested geckos usually weigh around 2 grams when they first hatch so if you are confident about the age of the crested gecko, you are correct to be concerned about its weight. There are numerous factors that could be affecting its weight and could be as little as a faulty gram scale or worse a genetic issue. That is why I strongly recommend bringing your little gecko to a licensed exotic veterinarian to have a check-up. They will go over all of these factors with you and help to get your crested gecko back on the right track.

      Take care,

      Shelby at New Hope Herp

  6. I’d like help sexing my gecko I’ve always believed it was a girl and “her” name is Poppy. But I’m unsure. I’d like to get her a companion so I want to make sure.

  10. Hello I got two geckos in July and one is still very young, I’m not sure of the sex so could you help me?

  12. I’ve had experience w Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, Ball Pythons. I am trying to sex my Crestie it’s about six months and I do not see any pores or developing hemipens unless I can’t see it well, would you mind to double check? I want to say female. I have a close up picture.

  13. Hi I’m pretty sure I have a female but I keep going back and forth. Any help would be great.

  17. My new crestie. Is a boy im getting a probable female Saturday the boys name is lucifer and the females name is gonna be lillith i use you info and looked my self and you were spot on i could tell perty easy thank you for your time

  19. Hello! I have a 6 month old crested gecko, and I think it’s a male, but I’m not sure. Can you help? Thanks!

  20. Hi! Great website!! We rescued a crestie from a family friend. We were told she was approx 2 years old & a female. We did take her to our local reptile shop to confirm the sex. The first worker said a male, but the second said female. She generally weighs about 50 grams & is rather thick. We never really worried about the sex until we got a second female as a Buddy. We put them together & our 1st chased the new one around the cage like crazy. We have had them separated since. The 2nd is a bit smaller (42 grams) so we assumed it was just aggression during to the size difference. Today I cleaned out cages & noticed our 2nd female had laid 2 sets of eggs. Our 1st never has. It’s leading me to think we may have a male indeed… Could you possibly help determine?

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