Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. I have never sexed a snake before, and I am planning on trying to breed in the future. I still have my original normal BP that I purchased 6 years ago. I always assumed it was a male, but it seems that maybe it is more likely to be a female. It seems males only get to about 3 feet, and mine is about 45". I was curious if I took "Chester" to one of the reptile shows here in Ohio if it would be acceptable to ask one of the vendors to sex him for me. At one of the Cleveland shows last year I picked up my spider and jungle pastel. I wondered if it would be ok to approach one of those vendors to ask them to sex my older BP. Where did all of you learn to sex? No pun intended.
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Computer geek by day, snake lover by night

Kudos to you for wanting to do it right! Yes, I think these vendors would have no problem demonstrating sexing to you-particularly since you are a past customer. It might help to provide your own probe set and not bother them when they are busy with other customers. I have done this kind of thing many times at expos!
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

I had my first attempt at breeding back in '94. I had a couple of king snakes, put them together, and nothing. I really didn't know what to expect back then but once you've seen breeding activity it's easily recognized. Most colubrids will immediately show a response when the timing is right. So I took my kings to a local IRBA show and asked one of the vendors that was selling kings if he could help. That was Rick Trenney of Renegade Reptils (RIP). One of the best in this hobby. We had a good laugh at that time and every year when I would see him at the show. I had a lesbian breeding pair, two females. He sold me a normal male that I had picked out. One of my females was an albino. As it turned out, the male was a het for albino and I got albinos my first year. Over the years, Rick helped whenever I asked.
If your dealing with vendors that aren't willing to help, then I think your dealing with the wrong vendors.
Pick up a set of probes, lubricant, some Purell hand cleaner, and a couple of paper towels. Bring it all to a show and ask your vendor for help. Ask when there is a lull at their table and you should have no problem getting a lesson. At some shows there are presentations and sometimes it is on sexing. One of the presenters may also be willing to give you a lesson after their presentation.
It's really not that difficult.

Thanks for the input. Now off to find a set of probing
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Computer geek by day, snake lover by night