Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is there any way to properly sex a BP with out probimg or popping?
thanks
steve

throw it in with one of my BIG males.........

he'll let you know what it is.........

(*bred or butt kicked)

for real

JY

In adult balls the spurs on males are typically much larger compared to a female of the same size. This isn't really a sure fire way to check but it can be helpful. After looking at the spurs on a lot of different pythons I made a list of what I thought all my ball pythons were just by looking at the spurs and then had them probed. My guesses on sex by spur size turned out to be 100% correct but I probably just got lucky. If anything it might give you a way to guess...

“In adult balls the spurs on males are typically much larger compared to a female of the same size.”

You may see it stated on many hobbyist websites that the spurs on male ball pythons are larger or longer than those on females, but this is just not true. If anything, older adult males have smaller spurs because they have worn them down during courtship. I’m not sure why this erroneous information is still circulating. I suspect it is partly due to the popularity of Melissa Kaplan’s site, which is widely quoted by others. Along with claiming that ball pythons eat amphibians, lizards and snakes, her caresheet states, “Males have longer spurs than do the females; males also have smaller heads than the females.” I don’t know where her information on head size comes from, but, as with spur size, this certainly hasn’t been the case in my experience.

-Joan