“Bearded dragon gender flashlight” is a term commonly mentioned in the world of reptile pet owners. We gathered that new bearded dragon keepers encounter and mention this expression, especially when discussing their lizard pet’s sex if it is a male or a female.
Furthermore, the “bearded dragon gender flashlight” term is among the discussion topics when caring for bearded dragons. It is a popular subject besides the typical ones, such as regularly giving multivitamin supplements to the tamed reptiles, putting feeders and hangout decors in the terrarium, and so forth.
We understand that it can be challenging to figure out a bearded dragon’s specific gender. After all, a reptile pet keeper has to wait until his bearded dragon is already four or five months old or even older.
We want to point out to new or novice bearded dragon owners that the bearded dragon gender flashlight is one of the techniques in determining if one’s domesticated reptile is a boy or a girl.
In this article, we talked about this method. Additionally, we enlightened our readers about the other effective ways on how they can tell their bearded dragons’ exact sex.
Proper Time to Learn about a Bearded Dragon’s Gender
We want to inform new bearded dragon owners that telling the sex of their tamed lizard can be very challenging and even impossible when the latter is very young or below four months old.
During this stage, the domesticated reptile’s sexual characteristics are still not apparent and can be invisible, even if its owner checks its genital area under a UV lamp. However, when a bearded dragon has reached at least four to five months old, their keepers can already tell if they are a female or a male lizard pet.
Additionally, we want to emphasize that telling a bearded dragon’s gender is easier and more accurate when this tamed reptile is already six to eight months old or over. During this time, new bearded dragon owners can be certain about their domesticated home companion’s sex as the indicators are already more visible.
Bearded dragon keepers need to understand how to tell if their tamed lizard is female or male. We want to highlight that this fact is significant, especially for hybridizers’ case, because it can assist them in breeding these lizard pets more effortlessly.
We gathered that the expression “bearded dragon gender flashlight” is commonly mentioned among bearded dragon keepers and breeders. They say it every time they discuss bearded dragons’ breeding and care procedures.
A bearded dragon gender flashlight does exist. We want to tell our readers that it is a kind of flashlight that can help identify if the bearded dragon is a male or a female.
We will discuss the bearded dragon gender flashlight more in the next section. This part of our article tackles the three effective methods in determining a lizard pet’s exact gender.
Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight and Other Ways to Know the Reptile Pet’s Sex
Besides the Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique, many other effective methods can help bearded dragon keepers and breeders know if their domesticated lizard is female or male.
We want to stress the fact that these diverse ways can be used together or independently to figure out a bearded dragon’s specific sex.
1. HEMIPENAL BUMP OR BULGE METHOD
The Hemipenal Bump or Bulge Method is the fastest and most effective way of telling if a bearded dragon is a female or a male one. Bearded dragon owners practice this technique by gently turning their lizard pet over to check its belly and the spot where the animal’s tail joins with its physique.
To execute the Hemipenal Bump or Bulge Method, we advise the bearded dragon owner to follow these three easy steps:
A) Hold the reptile pet gently after picking it up while seated on its tank’s reptile carpet or hangout decor or hideout decor big rock.
B) Gently lift the bearded dragon’s tail a little bit, checking underneath it while ensuring the proper holding of the reptile and supporting its tail and legs completely.
C) Lift the tamed lizard’s tail a little more to check underneath it if the hemipenal bumps are not visible yet.
In this way, the bearded dragon owner can stretch the skin and make these bulges stand out a little more. At this stage, we want to advise bearded dragon owners not to lift their domesticated home companion’s tail too hard.
Otherwise, their tamed reptile might get angry. When using the Hemipenal Bump or Bulge Method, the bearded dragon may feel stressed out as well.
In this technique, the male bearded dragons have two visibly long hemipenal bulges or bumps underneath their tails and close to their anus. These long bulges are on each side of the tail’s underside as well.
On the other hand, female bearded dragons normally have a single center bulge. Indeed, this gender has merely one hemipenal bulge or bump underneath their tails or in the center of their tails’ underside near their anus.
The Hemipenal Bump or Bulge Method can be difficult to use as the hemipenal bulges can be challenging to check, especially if the bearded dragon is overweight or young. Hence, we have the Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique as another option to try.
2. BEARDED DRAGON GENDER FLASHLIGHT TECHNIQUE
The Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique of determining a bearded dragon’s exact sex is similar to the Hemipenal Bump or Bulge Method. Hence, its other name is the Flashlight Hemipenal Bulge Method.
Nevertheless, the Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique is different because bearded dragon owners have to utilize a regular flashlight to check their lizard pet’s hemipenal bumps through its tail.
Additionally, the flashlight facilitates easy searching for the hemipenal bulges and checking if there are two or just one of them underneath the domesticated reptile’s tail. It highlights the bearded dragon’s internal organs as well.
To perform the Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique, we want to inform our readers that they should do the following steps:
A) Turn off all or most of the room’s lights.
B) If the domesticated lizard is outside its hide hole for bearded dragon or other location of the terrarium, gently pick it up and hold it.
C) Slightly lift the bearded dragon’s tail.
D) Use the flashlight to shine the light through the tail’s top close to where the tail connects to the lizard pet’s body.
E) Check underneath the tail where the flashlight’s light is visible through this body part. The hemipenal bumps will block some of this light and create shadows.
The Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique informs bearded dragon owners that their tamed reptile is a female one if they can see only one centered shadow.
On the other hand, the bearded dragon is a male one if these lizard pet keepers witness two shadows. Indeed, we highly recommend the Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique as among the effective ways in identifying if the bearded dragon is a male or a female.
This method is actually easy to execute, which includes shining the regular flashlight’s light through the base of the bearded dragon’s tail.
3. FEMORAL PORES METHOD
If bearded dragon owners are still not satisfied using the Hemipenal Bump or Bulge Method or the Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique, they can try the Femoral Pores Method. For new bearded dragon owners, we want to inform them that the femoral pores are the spots on the bottom of a bearded dragon’s hind legs.
They go from knee to knee on the underside of the bearded dragon’s legs. Moreover, the femoral pores are where the bearded dragons excrete the chemicals called pheromones that help them communicate with other bearded dragons.
These spots are specifically used during these tamed reptiles’ mating times. We want to point out that bearded dragons commence exuding pheromones from these femoral pores around one month after brumation, signaling to other bearded dragons that they are ready to mate.
Both female and male bearded dragons possess these spots. Nevertheless, we want to emphasize that they do not look the same.
Female bearded dragons’ femoral pores are visible but are smaller and more faded. On the other hand, male bearded dragons’ femoral pores are much more visible because they are larger. Plus, their color is more pronounced.
The Hemipenal Bump or Bulge Method, the Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique, and the Femoral Pores Method are the three primary ways to determine a bearded dragon’s precise sex.
Besides these ways, we want to stress the fact that bearded dragon owners and breeders can employ other helpful techniques, such as observing their bearded dragons’ physical characteristics and common behaviors.
Bearded Dragons’ Physical and Behavioral Features as Gender Indicators
We agree that caring for bearded dragons is more than providing these domesticated lizards with the proper living setup in terrariums and health-giving diets they need, such as Dubia roaches and mealworms.
Taking these tamed reptiles as domesticated home companions also means knowing their correct genders to be able to respond to their needs properly.
Besides the three techniques we tackled above, we want to inform our readers that they can also refer to their bearded dragons’ physical characteristics and common behaviors to know if their lizard pet is female or male.
Observing and understanding these visible attributes and common actions and their meaning aid in accurately determining a bearded dragon’s specific sex.
(1) PHYSICAL FEATURES
A. Tail’s shape
The shape of a bearded dragon’s tail is a physical attribute that is a good indicator of its gender. This feature is entirely noticeable when the bearded dragon has reached full adulthood.
Male bearded dragons’ tails are thick from the point of the body until its tip. On the other hand, female bearded dragons’ tails are much slenderer, but they can also still be thick where they connect to the reptile pet’s body.
Nonetheless, we want to highlight the fact that the rest of a female bearded dragon’s tail is consistently thinner than that of the male.
B. Head’s size and shape
Male bearded dragons’ heads are usually thicker and larger than those of female bearded dragons. On the other hand, female bearded dragons’ heads are small and thin.
C. Spikes use
Both female and male bearded dragons feature spikes around their heads and especially their beards. However, we want to emphasize the fact that male bearded dragons present these spikes most often when they are prepared to have sex.
Male bearded dragons can also offer their spikes as part of a threat, though this feature is typically paired with mouth gaping and hissing. In contrast, female bearded dragons are more likely to expand their spikes when they feel threatened.
They do not perform such actions when they are ready to have sex. For female bearded dragons, arm-waving is the more common gesture to indicate that they are all set to mate.
D. Black and puffed beard
A bearded dragon with a black and puffed beard signifies its feeling of stress or exhibition of dominance. This physical feature is typically visible when a reptile pet feels threatened or when it meets another bearded dragon in its vivarium.
A black and puffed beard means that the domesticated lizard is ready to defend itself and its territory. Male bearded dragons usually demonstrate this physical attribute.
Owners can see them around their tank’s sections with a black and puffed beard, including in a hangout decor or hideout decor big rock.
It is this tamed lizard’s consistent reaction to turn black and puff up its beard when it feels spooked or is approached from behind.
(2) BEHAVIORAL FEATURES
A. Territorial Behavior
Female bearded dragons can tolerate being in the same territory as other female and male bearded dragons if they are all approximately the same size. However, male bearded dragons tend not to share the same space well with others.
They usually exhibit dominant behavior. Hence, we highly advise bearded dragon owners never to place two male bearded dragons in the same enclosure.
B. Hole-digging
Both female and male bearded dragons dig holes. But what tells them apart in this behavioral feature is that the female bearded dragons utilize the holes they dug for laying eggs. Meanwhile, male bearded dragons use the holes for brumation.
C. Head-bobbing
Head-bobbing indicates a mix of aggressive and submissive behaviors. This action is present with either the threatening puffed beard or the passive arm-waving.
Additionally, we want to enlighten our readers that head-bobbing is a mating signal for bearded dragons of both sexes. Nevertheless, this action is more prevalent with the male bearded dragon in this situation.
D. Hissing
Hissing is less common and is often seen along with a black and puffed beard. It is a threat sign from a bearded dragon, which may bite when it is hissing.
Bearded dragons hiss only when they feel under attack by a larger predator they cannot hide from or another bearded dragon of a smaller size.
E. Arm-waving
Arm-waving performed by bearded dragons has several meanings. One of them is submission to a larger bearded dragon, and this event is the most common arm-waving instance.
The other common scenario when arm-waving is visible among these bearded dragons is when predators are just around the corner, or there is imminent danger, making these lizard pets change their hue.
We want to stress the fact that female bearded dragons are more prone to doing arm-waving. They do so when they see their owners or other bearded dragons of the same size.
Furthermore, female bearded dragons perform arm-waving when they are eager or ready to have sex. These actions are common among healthy bearded dragons that regularly receive their proper doses of liquid vitamins and calcium supplements along with their nutritious diets.
There are several ways to determine a bearded dragon’s sex. Therefore, we recommend new and experienced bearded dragon owners to try them, besides the popular Bearded Dragon Gender Flashlight Technique.
In this manner, these reptile pet keepers can properly respond to their beloved lizard pets and their requirements to live healthy, happy, and long existences. Besides, they can facilitate satisfying owner-pet relationships.
