another male or female question

[Sardoniccheese]

I want to get another mali, the opposite sex of this one. The person that gave it to me told me it was a girl because thats what the vet told him.. but its coloration is of a male here is a pic, is there any other way for me to tell?


Her/his name is cleopatra (queen of the desert)

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/6258/cleo0jp.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Sardoniccheese]

Oh yeah, hesheit is 3 years old and full grown about 11 1/2 inches long.

[Karen Hulvey]

That looks like a classic male Mali however there are high yellow females too. When he is heated up, does he get more colorful? Is his throat completely black?

Before you get another one, make sure you have a large enough enclosure to house them both (if you're planning on housing them together). Bigger is better.

[Sardoniccheese]

I have a 55 gallon tank that cleo is in all alone. (my boss had her in a 20 long ewwwwwwww)

Its night time right now so I cant check the stuff you just asked... but I measured her and shes only 11.5 inches long. Does that help? Im calling it a she for now because thats what the vet said... isnt there a way to look at its hemipenis or something?

[Tears_and_Fangs]

I read somewhere that the males can disquise thereselves as females(the coloration) and females as males. Something like that....it confused me a little too. x.x

Looks like a male in my opinion, though. :)

[Karen Hulvey]

I still think it is a male. If possible, take a picture of him after he has been basking for about an hour. The males will even more yellow after they have been heated up. Males also have large hemipenal pores around their vent. It's hard to go by this if you haven't seen a lot of Malis.

[Gromph Baenre]

Here is another way to determine sex with malis. After you latest acquistion has completed a sufficient quarntine period, introduce your male mali to the female's enclosure. IF your female is in fact a female there will be some behaviours that will aid you in determining the sex. First the male will approach the female bobbing up and down, like he is doing push ups as he walks towards her. The male will attempt to mount the supposed female. If the supposed female roles over on it's back, then you have proof that your female is in fact a female. If the male approaches and the supposed female go towards each other in a nose to tail fashion and start circling one another, or they start nipping at one anothers legs or tail area, then this is an indication that you have two males. At the first sign of aggression(it's kinda hard to mistake) seperate them. These behaviours are only applicable to sexually mature animals. Given that it's about time for brumation, you might not see any sort of behaviours I listed. But come spring time, things should be in full swing(my mali's usually come out of brumation around the second week of February). Another male behaviour that you should look for is circling. This is most notable during the spring as well. The male of the species will climb atop their basking spot and other enclosure items and proceed to chase his tail. Sexually mature males, particularly in spring time, will secrete a waxy substance from their femoral pores. When they perform this circling on enclosure items, they deposit the secretions in this fashion. I liken it to them marking their territory. Females rarely have any type of secretion from their femoral pores.
I wish I could give you a more positive, direct yes or no answer, but male mimic females are a commonality in malis. I hope this helps you determine the sex of your latest acquistion.