Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im not sure if i read it right, but i read you can visually sex an adult boa by the spurs and the tail by lenght and size... is this correct?
i also read its not a good idea to probe a boa, is this correct?

i havent probe either of my 2 snakes yet.....

but visually looking at them heres what i found

vesta my 7 ft redtail, upon examining her vent, i could not find any spurs..... so im guessing female?

dagda my 4.5ft redtail, very short spurs they were quiet hard to find.....im guessing female as well?

would i be better off to just go ahead and probe both snakes?

when probing a male should go about 10 scales?
a female about 2?

Probing (at the size of those boas) is the only real way to get an accurate reading

JMO
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thank you

If your nervous about probing you can try this:
Grasp the tail, put your thumb on the vent and with firm pressure slide your thumb towards the back of the tail. If it's a male you can feel sometimes one or two pops pass by your thumb. That's the hemipenes. You can also note the scale count of the pops. The female will feel smooth. Give it a few tries. I've done it with 18" to 6 foot boas.