Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm taking my BRB to the vet tomorrow. I just thought of this. I know that the probe will go in further in a male and it will probe shallow in a female. but how many scales is shallow and how many is deeper? My brb is about 40" long now, if that makes a difference.

Thanks.
Rob
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For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer

Rob,
...Females 2 to 4 and males 8 to 12.
Jeff

>>I'm taking my BRB to the vet tomorrow. I just thought of this. I know that the probe will go in further in a male and it will probe shallow in a female. but how many scales is shallow and how many is deeper? My brb is about 40" long now, if that makes a difference.
>>
>>Thanks.
>>Rob
>>-----
>>For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
>>0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
>>1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
>>0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
>>0.0.1 Normal corn
>>0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
>>1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
>>1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer

What happens when they probe 6 scales? He/she??
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

Aubrey,
...Sometimes there are snakes that are seemingly impossible to sex. One possibility is a male that is muscularly resisting the insertion of the probe. Alternate possibility is that the snake is female and the probe has been forced through the tissue. If you use a probe too large you will run into more problems with males resisting insertion and seeming to be female. If you use a probe too small you are at increased risk for perforation. IMO probing is a reliably accurate method of sexing little snakes but no method is 100% accurate and probing is more dangerous than other methods.
Jeff

>>What happens when they probe 6 scales? He/she??
>>-----
>>Aubrey Ross
>>
>>©
>>www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

Thanks for the info, Jeff. I asked because when I go my male, Indigo, I probed him to verify sex. I got 6 scales, so I was a bit confused. He was sold to me as a proven male, so that is what I went with. I guess he'll prove himself to me this spring/summer.
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

I took her out to feel her tail end. After coiling around my arm a few times she finally calmed down enough to just hang out. She was relaxed enough to let me play around with her tail. I kept sliding my finger down her tail and felt no bump at all, even as far down as 8 and more scales. No bump. My wife told me to stop feeling up the snake........wives.......

I wish I had thought about asking you if you would sex her for me when you were in Tallahassee. I would have driven over there to meet you. Then gone herpin out there with a friend of mine. You could have come, if you would have skipped the game

Thanks again Jeff,
Rob
-----
For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer

That is what I thought all along, but wasn't sure. She probed out at about 2 scales on both sides. The vet did one side and then said "I'll do the other side just to be sure" I was happy with that.

I think that I'm happy with her, but haven't really decided (the vet that is). She had no problem grabbing the snakes and probing them. When she probed ziggy today, she had a little bit of trouble getting the probe in past the anal vent scale (is there a name for this?) but once she did it the first time, the second time went much better.

I mentioned palpating. She felt the snake past the vent and said that they palpate for many things in the office. "I think when you were told that, they were talking about feeling for the ends of the hemipines." is basically what she said to me.

If there is a next time that I have to take the snakes to a vet, I may try the other vet in town to check them out. That office is about double the cost of the office I went to today though. And it is the office that any other vet in town suggests for reptiles.

Thanks again Jeff,
Rob

-----
For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer

I don't smoke, are you handing out lolipops or something?

Congrats, always good to find out it's a female!!! Unless all your other animals are females. But then again, would be a good excuse to get another "male"!!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
24.36 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I had no clue that there are two "ziggy"s and thought that Dave had found out that I sexed HIS ziggy wrong. Thats always something I worry about. I just about had a heart attack. Phew!
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Jess
2.4 adult brazilian rainbows
1.1 baby BRBs born 6/18
1.1 Pacific/celestial Parrotlets (no names yet)
1.0 normal corn
1.1 african brown house snake
1.4 crested geckos
1.1 western hognoses
0.1 Kitten-Mayhem
0.1 paranoid mother "too many snakes!"

Hey Jess,
Actually there are a couple of ziggies around here if I remember correctly. Mine is a female, Dave has a male and there is a guy here that has a male named ziggy too.

Glad to hear there was no myocardial infarction at your house today.
Rob

>>I had no clue that there are two "ziggy"s and thought that Dave had found out that I sexed HIS ziggy wrong. Thats always something I worry about. I just about had a heart attack. Phew!
-----
For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer

of those things named Ziggy

>>of those things named Ziggy
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For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer

I think I'll hold out on the lolipops until I have slimies in hand. The only thing my wife and I have successfully bred in this house has been us.

>>I don't smoke, are you handing out lolipops or something?
>>
>>Congrats, always good to find out it's a female!!! Unless all your other animals are females. But then again, would be a good excuse to get another "male"!!!
>>-----
>>Thanks,
>>
>>
>>Dave Colling
>>
>>www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com
>>
>>
>>
>>0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
>>0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)
>>
>>LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
>>24.36 BRB
>>19.19 BCI
>>And those are only the breeders
>>
>>lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

-----
For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer