Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone, hope all is well. Just a quick inquiry for the herps veterans out there. For new born hatchlings, how many days or weeks should the hatchling be to make sure that you do not injure anything internally when you are using the popping method for sexing hatchlings? Of course you will try to be gentle when you are pressing with your fingers but I just want to get some consensus out there for those who know what they are doing. Thanks a lot for your time !

>>Hello everyone, hope all is well. Just a quick inquiry for the herps veterans out there. For new born hatchlings, how many days or weeks should the hatchling be to make sure that you do not injure anything internally when you are using the popping method for sexing hatchlings? Of course you will try to be gentle when you are pressing with your fingers but I just want to get some consensus out there for those who know what they are doing. Thanks a lot for your time !

I do it the day they hatch, if i'm removing them to separate housing then. I don't force anything: if a snake doesn't pop, i NEVER assume that means it's a female, i folllow up by probing (same day). A male is a snake that popped without undue pressure; a female is a snake whose gender has been determined by probing. That's pretty much it.
so if you're starting out, you always err on not being concerned if it doesn't pop--yeah, maybe you're just not mastering the technique yet, or pushing hard enough yet, but so what. If you try to pop 50, and 25 do and 25 don't, and then you probe the 25 that didn't, and 15 of them DO probe as males * then you might conclude you need to pop a little more aggressively. Conversely, if all 25 that didn't pop probe as females, you can generally conclude you've got the popping technique pretty well under control, that you're doing it right.
peace
terry
* -- be aware that probing requires some gentleness too--not only must you be careful not to push the probes in too hard, you also havve to be on guard that the snake being probed doesn't suddenly contract and pull its body hard onto the probes, that could do as much damage as your pushing too hard. In both instances, it probably helps in the beginning if someobdy's helping you control the various loops & coils, or the head, or tail, whatever, so you can concentrate more on the probes, or the popping. Later you can graduate to do-it-yourself. TD

I pop them when most of them are out of the egg. I rinse them off in tepid water and then pop. I repeat when they shed the first time, and quick rinse in water. The water seems to make them more "accessibe" and with less finger manipulation. I've never had to probe a newborn.

Mike

Thanks a lot to both Terry and Mike for answering my questions. They sure are very informative.

Cheers!