Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a 4ft green anaconda that i would like to know the sex of. how would i go about sexing it without probing it? i dont want to probe because i have no experience in it and i do not want to hurt it. i know that sexing a snake without probing is not 100% but i would like to have an idea. so how would i go about sexing without probing?

Look at the spurs...this can be 100% acurate. Females have spurs recessed into the scales and are shaped like a cone while males are hooked and external and on an appendage. male spurs are also usually lighter in coloration. Kelly Haller has some nice photos in his gallery that provide a nice example.

Difficult to do at this size. Males may have some spurs (but females could also. Females are very thick even at such a small size but in captivity obesity poses a problem and what appears to be a female could in theory end up being a male. do not attempt to cloacal pop an animal of this size because damage could occur. A possibility would be a good herp vet or experienced herpetoculterist in the area could probe the animal for you.

You could probe it but I say spur sexing is a better way. I know a well known and respected DVM who is given tons of snakes to probe and I dont think he has ever gotten a green anaconda to probe male. Even with trying to work around the glands using a very small ball point probe not even on the market anymore due to the quality of metal is hardly available. Yes it may be difficult to see spurs but if you can see them with magnification the structure is completely different.

Like eunectes said, spur sexing is going to be your best bet and the most reliable. Use a magnifying glass. I could pot some pics of a female spur but shes in shed right now. I will in a few days.

Arik

thanks for all the info, ill be waiting for the female spur pics. thanks again!

Did you look at Kelly Hallers pics? He has both a pic of a male and female spurs. Very goood pics!
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Crazy ZooLady

I have hopefully taken some better photos of female spurs to give you an idea of what to look for. As eunectes4 stated, males are difficult to probe true if you don’t hit the angle just right. Although with a little practice, it can be done without too much trouble. I also agree with Pkriz, I would never recommend that even a newborn anaconda be popped sexed. Years ago I saw a 2 month old male green anaconda popped by a well known and expert boid breeder from back east, that had been damaged and was unable to retract one of the hemipenes. Even newborn greens have very powerful musculature around the tail region and it takes too much pressure to pop one without a high probability of damage. The female in the photos is 10.5 feet, but still gives a good idea of the spur structure. Newborn females usually have the tip of the spur showing, but as they put a little size on, the spur recesses out of sight. I posted a male spur last. Male spurs are the opposite, becoming more external as they age. The male in the photo was close to 8 feet at the time. Both males and females usually have just the tip of the spur showing at birth, but under magnification and with the scales pulled back, the structural differences can be seen. I will post the photos below as separate posts. Thanks,

Kelly

This is the spur area of a female as it looks normally. Without the scales pulled back the spur is not typically visible in females of 5 or 6 feet and larger. You can see the cavity that contains the spur in the lower center of the photo.

The scales have been pulled back to show the spur. Note the short, broad spur without a sharp curved tip as in the male. It is curved on one side, but is flat on the other side opposite the curve. Also note that the spur is only about half the size of the scales on the side of her body.

This photo puts the smaller size of the female spur into better perspective. This female was from the 2001 litter and it is amazing how docile she is. My daughter and I spent at least 10 minutes pulling her tail around and prying back the scales to get some fairly clear photos. It was a little difficult to hold her tail perfectly still for a good shot, but she didn’t seem to mind it at all.

The male spur is typically totally external at a body length of 6 feet and larger. It is located at the end of an appendage that is 2 or 3 small scales long. Note the sharp 90 degree hook at the tip. Also note that the spur itself is approximately the size of the scales on the side of the male’s body, making it about twice the size of a spur found on an equally sized female.

show with Jesus rivas saturday night and it showed perfectly the spurs of a male in action. It also showed some cool photos of P. sebae staying with the babies weeks after birth.