Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A couple of weeks ago i went to the petstore and saw this ball that no employee would handle, they all said it was too aggressive. i was really upset and i spoke with the owner and he asked me to take care of her for awhile and see if i can calm her down. ive raised a lot of snakes but never a python so im a little disoriented. anyways, the owner said that when she was recieved she/he was covered in ticks. well ive been handling him or her for awhile, she's the sweetest thing!! however i noticed two small hard 'tags'(im not sure how else to describe them) on either side of the anal plate. does anyone have any clue what this could be?? please help!!!

If they look like little claws, they're spurs. They're supposed to be there.
Did you get rid of the ticks ok? Poor little guy is obviously wild caught, I hope he stays healthy.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convient pocket size!

What are spurs?? they do look like little claws!! i wasnt sure how to describe that one... yeah i got all the ticks off, poor thing. hes doing really well though. he's the sweetest snake ive ever met. when he got here he was shedding but it was in chunks, not one smooth shed. he let me help him pull the excess dead skin off, it was so cool. my kingsnakes never let me do that!!
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Emily Ni etc

They're called anal spurs. Last vestiges of legs. All boids have them. You should soak or wet skin with a towel and gently rub it off rather than pull off a bad shed.

Thank you so much for the tips!! is there an easier way than probing to find out if its a boy or a girl??
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Emily Ni etc

as far as i know there is another way...males have somekind of (ah i don't know the name at the moment)...anyway if you squeeze them near cloaka ther should come sth out!
please some1 help me with that!!
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1.0.0 Ball python (Oz)
0.0.1 Hardwicki Uro (Amon)
0.1.0 Black cat (Tomika)

>>as far as i know there is another way...males have somekind of (ah i don't know the name at the moment)...anyway if you squeeze them near cloaka ther should come sth out!
>>please some1 help me with that!!
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>>1.0.0 Ball python (Oz)
>>0.0.1 Hardwicki Uro (Amon)
>>0.1.0 Black cat (Tomika)

to be accurate when the snake is a hatchling. When the snake gets older I believe it gets better control of it's hemipene so it may not pop.

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.
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Rob Talkington

You are somewhat correct. Most balls, unless they are huge strong specimans, can be "popped." It isn't really that hard of a procedure but the downfall is if it isn't don't properly then you will think you have a female when in all actuality you have a male. You can also injur the snake if you are to forcefull. Please visit VPI.com. They have an extremely interesting article that thoroughly explains the different techniques used to sex a snake. Hope this helps a little. Todd

Youve all been so helpful thank you soo much!!
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Emily Ni etc

>>You are somewhat correct. Most balls, unless they are huge strong specimans, can be "popped." It isn't really that hard of a procedure but the downfall is if it isn't don't properly then you will think you have a female when in all actuality you have a male. You can also injur the snake if you are to forcefull. Please visit VPI.com. They have an extremely interesting article that thoroughly explains the different techniques used to sex a snake. Hope this helps a little. Todd
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Rob Talkington