Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know the first thing everyone is going to say is probe it or look for bigger/smaller spurs. I dont have time to take it to a vet just to get it probed, and when people say bigger spurs on male...What does that mean?! I noticed two little holes on each side of his anus, and in those two little holes are little nail type things about the size of a mouse claw, they're not prodruding out at all, they're just kinda in the hole. Are those the spurs? And if so, based on the size, do you think its a male or female?

P.S. I've noticed on several occasions, when i pick up my burm from the sunning spot, he seemed to be really warm, like hot bath water warm. Is it normal for them to get this hot? My sunning spot is about 98 degress F.

With a small burm it is sometimes difficult to "sex" by just looking at the spurs. The little nail things you are referring to are the spurs and in alarger male the are very noticeable. Without a known male or female snake to compare the spur size with though it is hard to say definately whether it is a male or female. I would suggest taking it to another snake person in the area that you live in. If you do not know anyone that keeps herps in your area go to the local petstore that sells reptiles and someone there should know how to probe. Also looking at spur size or tail length should never be used to determine absolutley what sex a snake is. Every snake is a little different and there are sometimes females with larger than normal spurs or males with smaller than normal. The only way to accurately determine is by probing so like I said find someone that can do it and show you how. If you plan on doing the snake thing for long it is something you should learn how to do anyway. Good luck, Todd

A guess would be good enough for me. Lets just say the local pet store employee's are, less then standard knowledge pet store employees. Im not planning on keeping any other snakes until this one dies, and im not planning on breeding it. I just wanna know what sex it is so i can get a better idea of how big and how fast its going to grow. I know someone is going to read this and tell me about some extremety about a male getting 20 feet in 5 months, i know they can get the same size and bigger than females but it is less likley. Im just trying for an educated guess.

Where do you live? Maybe someone on the forum lives near you or could recommend someone local to you. I personally wouldn't count on spur size/tail size to determine sex. The only absolute way is to probe him/her. If by some chance you live in Massachusetts (North Shore area) I'd be glad to probe your snake for you. Hopefully someone here on the forums will be able to help you out. Take care, Scott.
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I live in Connecticut, i know probing is the only accurate way, but i just want a general guess......

Males tend to have an obvious spur with a hooked claw on the end. Females tend to have a less obvious spur with either a straight claw on the end or no claw at all. The "mouse claw" statement makes me think your snake is a male and fairly young/small. Estimated probability of correct sexing is 50% if your snake is less than three feet long. Probability of correct sexing rises as the snake gets older, particularly if you post a picture of a spur.

Hope that helps.

Paul Hollander