Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK, so I thought producing babies was the hard part......this is nothing for me, it is sexing them that is making me nuts! I have had several people show me how to pop them and when I try myself I get zero. I am trying to get some clutches of Nigritis and Brooksi sexed and I am doing nothing more than wearing musk and crap. The Nigritis especially, they seem to hae a huge musk gland which is in the way, sometimes it appears that the 2 red dots are about to pop as hemis but that snotty looking gland comes out and covers it? For the record I will confess I can't get anything form my corns or pits either.........so I basically just stink at this. Should I forget about popping and just go to probing? My smallest probe does not have a ball tip, the next size up seems a little big. I have been trying to pop many many snakes over the past few days and thought this was the preferred method for hatchlings? Probing seems to be more of an older snake thing. I have probed a few sub adults which was not easy for me to do either, so I am very paranoid. Any hepful hints on how to get a definite answer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Tom

OK So I finally got a Nigritis to pop and it was red and very noticeable. Now I am working on Brooksi and I thought I saw hemis but they were white or clear? Should they always look red? I am sure I saw 2 short nubs of flesh.....but they lacked color. Input? Tom

Tom,

just for the record, I probe everything. Popping hatchlings is not accurate in my opinion. Just be careful not to push the probe. If it's a male, it will just slide in with no problem......usually about 1/4" in hatchling kings and sometimes more. Good luck and have fun.

Brandon

Thanks Brandon, since my freakout I actually was able to pop a few with a trick Shannon showed me. I have 2 weeks til I go to a show to sell at so by then I want everything I have sexed. Not easy when you have a 2 year old, I have been covered in snake...liquid all afternoon. Washed my hands 1000 times LOL. Looks like I havea lot of females.....which is not a bad thing. Going to practice probing too. Thanks for your input. It was cool to meet you in Daytona. Take it easy bro Tom

Yo Tom,
Please be very, very careful!!!! And if you are haevy on females, I'd be interested in trios. Let me know!

Pat

Sounds like you've been having fun Tom. lol. I was great meeting you. I actually met quite a few new people this year. I only wish the weather wouldn't have screwed things up.

If you have a lot of females, it's time to break out the probes. That's what I've always been burned on.......when a breeder sells me a female that ends up being a male 3 years later. You can't pop a female, and sometimes you can't pop a male. Good luck and have fun.

Brandon

I pop all of my sankes with 100% success rate. Sometimes certain ones are tough (like the floridana) and females can have little sticks come out to the side of the vent. Just need to recognize it. When you produce over 1000 babies a year you will be an expert. FO sho!

Brandon,I probe everything.I think snakes are alot more resilient than most people think.They are not fine china,lol. What I dont like isnt getting the missexed hatchling as much as "she laid for me last year"and it being a male,lol!Jeff

Then you will know if you are sexing them right.

I will continue to practice but at least I found some definite males. Going to work on probing now. This must take people who mass produce an eternity to sex all their hatchlings. Tom Stevens

blue's right. it's a two-step method: pop; then probe.

POPPING: ID's males. If it pops, it's a male. No further questions.

PROBING: If it DOESN'T pop, it could be a male OR a female. So you MUST probe. Only those that probe female are female.

I'd never buy a "female" from someone who had simply tried to pop the snake.

peace
terry

After wearing several ounces of snake yuckies and being chowed on numerous times I feel I can determine the sex of snakes with both methods. I went through many many hatchlings and I can't do it easily as Shannon did, but as long as I get the job odne i am happy. Thanks a million for the killer snakes Terry, all ate and all are screamers! Tom Stevens

popping a hatchling... the little "snail antennae"

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~Sasheena