Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How long does one normally wait until its safe to pop sex newborn boas.

dont know if this is any help (as i do retic, but starting to get into the boa thing), but i usually sex after the first shed and 2-3 meals taken and fully digested
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retic is king of kings

1.0 Tiger Retic
1.0 Albino Tiger Retic
0.1 Striped Tiger Retic (het albino)
0.1 Salmon Boa
1.0 Albino Boa
0.1 False Water Cobra

I don't pop sex, I feel for "speed bumps". I wait until they are a day old so they aren't slimy anymore and thats if I really really care to know my ratios.

I keep them in a group until they shed - then sex them (rub technique) , place them in their own tub , give them an ID card, wait 5 days, then offer food.
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Snake room janitor

What is the roll technique and how is it performed? Thanks for your time

slide your index finger from the cloaca area to the base of the tail. Just firmly enough to feel the so-called "speed bump"...which you can't miss if its a male.

With females, you won't feel it which is a pretty good indicator. With bigger boas, from yearlings and up, its hard to feel and therefore popping or probing would be necessary.

slide your index finger from the cloaca area to the base of the tail. Just firmly enough to feel the so-called "speed bump"...which you can't miss if its a male.

A picture is worth a thousand words......

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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:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

So what part do you actually feel the bump in like rite past the vent or further down? Thanks

Also with like yearlings sexing them is it pretty accurate to see head size and body size differences between them like broader heads on females and smaller heads on males?

No bump = female. Bump = male.
I believe the bump is when you go past the most posterior end of the inverted hemipene. Feels kinda like a rubber band releasing from between your fingers. So it would be in the same location the probe would bottom out on a male. Say, 7 or 8 subcaudal scales back or more from vent, for example. It is possible to get a False Positive for female with this technique if not done properly. In other words, you don't feel the bump, so you think it is a female, because you do feel the bump with males when done correctly. I believe this to be the safest and least invasive method to sex neos. Best to do it more than once with well hydrated snakes.
jsc
As always, please feel free to correct me if I've made any errors or have confused the issue.
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

here's the whole method...

Can be done either belly up or down, I like belly up so I can see better what I'm doing. Grasp baby just above the vent with one hand. Place your other thumb along the spine for support. Slide your finger tip along belly from vent toward tail (moist finger tip helps). About 1/2" to 1" down the tail, if it's a male, you will feel one or two little bumps inside the tail slip under your finger tip. Those are the tips of the hemipenes. Commonly refereed to as the BB's.

Here's a GIF showing it being done....

Right about the end of the colored belly pattern is where I found the BB's on this male.

Try it over and over again on several babies until you find a male. Once you have a known male you can practice on him to tweak your methods and pressure applied etc.

Additional tips:

Slide your fingertip further than you think, you'll be surprised how long some hemipenes are.

RE-CHECK all "females" sometimes a lesser endowed male can get missed on the first pass through.

You can use any finger tip you like, I use my ring finger as it's more sensitive (less calloused).
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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:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thanks to everyone involved in this post ( especially the video ).
It was a great help. I can't pop worth crap and I hate to probe but it it is the only way I can sex my babies.