How to Determine the Gender of a Fire Skink

Fire skinks are medium-sized lizards with gold backs and black and white bars along their heads and sides. They are increasingly popular pets that are friendly to their owners when well-socialized. Determining the gender of a fire skink is challenging because these lizards do not have tail bulges or other visible sex cues. However, there are several small differences between male and female fire skinks, and with careful observation of your skink you should be able to determine its gender.

Things You'll Need

  • Snake probe
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Instructions

    • 1

      Observe the size of your fire skink. Fully grown males are longer than females. Males may grow as large as 13 to 16 inches, while females tend to be 10 to 14 inches. Females tend to have bulkier bodies than males, while males have larger heads.

    • 2

      Watch for signs of aggression. Fire skinks tend to be aggressive with other lizards, but females can live peacefully with other females if they are raised together. Males will fight other lizards, especially other males. If your lizard is behaving aggressively, it's probably a male.

    • 3

      Compare your skink's color to other skinks. Males often have brighter color patterns than females. If your skink seems very bright compared to some other skinks, it is likely a male.

    • 4

      Take your skink to a reptile vet. See Resources for a list of reptile vets in your area. Only a qualified professional can definitively sex fire skinks. The vet will gently insert a snake probe into your lizard's cloaca. If the probe easily enters the cloaca past six scales, it is a male. Females' cloacas will not permit the probe to enter past a few scales.