A well respected, local pet store recently sold me a rescue Mexican Rosy Boa as a female. "We are quite confident", I was told. Plus, twice previously, I had used that store to probe snakes to determine gender. I got looking at this boa, however, and noticed how long & thick the tail is. Not content with information told to me (which conflicted with my prior experience), I began researching online text & photos.

After much searching, I found these two gems:

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1) http://www./Answers/ReptileProblem.aspx?Id=31840

jbt123 Justyne Lobello Macon, GA Jurassic Reptiles
PS- the spurs really tell you nothing. I have females with HUGE spurs, and males with teeny ones. I also have males with short tails and females with really long tails. The probe is the most accurate way to sex them- but its easier to tell when they're about a year old. When I'm not certain, I just probe them every couple of weeks ( to not stress them) to confirm my findings.

I have about 40 rosies. My boy is only about 2.5 feet long- and that may be pushing it. His girlfriends are nearly double his size and girth. The Mexican locales tend to be smaller. When you get into coastals and Arizona locales they are bigger.

2) http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snakes/467521-atb-probing-issues.html

A couple years ago, I bought a pair of Amazon Tree Boas. The male was proven and the female was a 3 year old virgin. She had been apparently sexed twice (probed) and I did not sex her myself. The person I got her from is someone I know and trust, and the person who did the sexing if someone I know of and he is an expert with 20 years of experience. The male has wrapped the female on several occasions this month.

I recently traded them to another breeder and he sexed the female as a male. He indicated that he used the proper size of probe, did not perforate any tissue, and probed 12-15 scales deep on both sides. The person who probed the snake a male is someone with a lot of experience with Tree Boas (mostly Emeralds) and lots of other snakes.

I always say unless it probes male it can only be 100% sexed if it has been bred. A male can tense up and probe as a female, some people with loads of experience claim to probe 100% accurate but it is impossible unless you are putting them to sleep to do it.

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I have a male with tiny spurs, but his hemipenes can be felt by running my finger on each side. At 34 inches total length, his tail is about 3.5 inches long, nowhere near the 14% figure quoted so often online for males. (His tail would need to b 4.76 inches to be 14% of total length, per the Myth.)

Did the pet store owner who sold me the boa simply look for spurs, found tiny ones or none at all, and ASSUMED the sex to be female? Or, did he probe and the snake TENSED, so the probe only penetrated partway?

Sexing mistakes likely happen WAY too often. How many of you are *CERTAIN* of your snake's gender?

1.0 Lampropeltis getula splendida
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