Posted by:
RyanHomsey
at Fri Jul 20 14:10:05 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by RyanHomsey ]
I struggled with sexing boas after producing my first litters this year. I had 73 babies sitting there... all unsexed. I tried and tried the rub method but couldnt get it. What was happening is I was getting females. The trick is to find a baby male. I did this by taking them to a local vet here who happens to be a highly regarded snake vet. He got one out of 5 of the boas I brought to pop, clearly a male. And, even though he is a highly regarded snake vet, I later confirmed he mis-sexed one of my boas (via the popping method) as a female.
After I got a male determined I used him to determine the feel of the "bb's". Even with him, it took me a while to get it. At first I was A. Not applying enough pressure and B. Not going down far enough in the tail. After I figured it out and actually felt the bb's, I sexed the final 72 with ease.
I personally dont stick to using any specific hold or method, the boas are typically moving around and I do it alone so, I just go with the flow. Sometimes I would use my thumb under the cloaca and rub down... sometimes I would use my pointer finger.
I would suggest taking a known male and figuring out the rub method on him. It is the least intrusive way and, once you figure it out, by far the easiest.
-----
www.topnotchboas.com
[ Hide Replies ]
|
Some afterthoughts: - RyanHomsey, Fri Jul 20 14:10:05 2007