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Will somebody please explain spurs to me? I know they are vestigal limbs but why don't I see them on my snake? Is it because it's too small still or am I not looking hard enough?

Hiya! Look on either side of the vent on the underside of the tail. They are small in younger snakes, and lie flush with the body. I can barely notice my females. Shes around 3 months old or so. The males are larger, but not by much, and use them during courtship to stroke the female into receptiveness.
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1.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 corn snake
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish
1.2 cats
3.1 kids
1.0 husband

That's where I looked and I didn't see any. I'll look again and try not to upset thesnake while doing so.

they r not as prominent as the adults...

>>….why don't I see [spurs] on my snake? Is it because it's too small still or am I not looking hard enough

Yes and yes, probably. The spurs on a hatchling or young ball python are very small and not darkly pigmented. Of the part that’s visible outside the body, we’re talking like 2mm at the most in length. If you look carefully in bright light, you should see what looks like a tiny cat’s claw on each side of the vent (where the anal plate is). Probe gently with your fingernail or a credit card to lift one.

Unlike with some other species of boids, the size of the spurs in ball pythons is NOT diagnostic as to sex. With sexually immature specimens, the spurs of both sexes will be similar in size. However, with older (and presumably sexually active) ball pythons, you can make good guesses because the males will usually have worn down or broken off their spurs during courtship.

Some other random observations about spurs:

Whereas those on ball pythons are relatively friable, spurs on larger species like mature Burmese pythons are large, tough and maintain a fairly nasty-looking point at the tip.

I’m wondering if there is a “handedness” in snakes as to their choice of which spur to use most often. I have two older male ball pythons - one twenty years old and one who is over twenty four years old. Both have used their right side spurs so much that they have practically disappeared, while the left side spurs are still around 6mm in length. A three year old male who just reached sexual maturity this past breeding season, on the other hand, has spurs of identical length.

Finally, a female does not have to be in the same cage as a male to have him initiate “spurring”. I’ve heard a rhythmic “click-click-click” coming from cages of larger snakes like blood pythons or Haitian boa during the breeding season. On investigation, I found a lone male endlessly spurring the paper substrate. I’ve no doubt that ball pythons must do the same thing, but it just doesn’t make enough noise to capture one’s attention. It’s no wonder those species with delicate spurs wear them down over time; even captive virgin males could do so if they use them in this extracurricular fashion.

-Joan

Interesting! Your comments prodded me to look up sexual dimorphism in Ball Pythons and it states that spurs are NOT an accurate indicator in Ball Pythons, although it may be in other types of Boas and Pythons. Harrumph.

http://www.vpi.com/9VPITipsAndTechs/DeterminingTheSexOfSnakes/DeterminingTheSexOfSnakes.htm

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/cites/studies/study_royal_python_ghana.pdf
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1.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 corn snake
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish
1.2 cats
3.1 kids
1.0 husband