Reptile & Amphibian Forums

can you tell by feeling for bump on the base of the males tails and no bump on females.the reptile shop i'm thinking of buying from said it is just as accurate as probing. they are a very good shop and i have purchased lots from them and never had any problems just never heard of this method. they are yearling snakes and look just like they ones pictured in a article in reptile mag a couple months ago.

There's no doubt that male boas can be sexed by feeling the hemipenes. In my experience with Hogg Island boas they are located considerably further back from the vent than many other boas. Since I've learned the feel technique I've abandoned my probes because it is much safer and easier. If the shop you're buying from is experienced enough there's no reason why they can't sex boas accurately by this method.

Probeing or (popping for babies) is the only way to tell for sure. I myself think I can tell just by looking at the tails, but have been fooled before so always probe or pop. Andy

it absolutely works, you do not need to probe or pop them at all. Lloyd Lemke taught me this in 1997 and i cant believe more people don't know about it. i have done it on my colombians,hog islands,bolivian short tails, and dumerils. it wont work on ball pythons, or at least it hasnt for me. heres how to do it, hold the snake with your left hand just above the vent (head side,i usually either let the rest of the snake rest in the enclosure or my lap or a safer alternative would be to put the front half of the snake in a cloth sack to prevent from getting bit) slowly and gently with steady pressure run your thumb without stopping on the ventral (underside) of the tail from the vent towards the tip of the tail. use your index finger on the top side to "sandwich" the tail and keep steady pressure. you will definately feel the bump,it feels like your thumb went over a small pee, it also will "snap" back toward the vent. as the previous person stated hog island boas are "way" back in comparison to other boas so dont let up on the pressure too short(this proves Hog Island Boas are the REAL men of the boa family,lol!). try it on a few boas. i am curious if anyone has tried it on other species and which ones it has worked on (i would assume all the boa family?),any others? thanks, john yocum

I think I understand what you are saying, but if pressure is applied to the hemipenis to cause the blood to build up in the tip..so it will engourge enough to feel it, manually with your finger...would that not be possible to damage the hemipenis if too much pressure was applied? especially for beginners, I would not think that would be a good idea. I could be wrong, maybe there is no risk...just asking. Thanks Andy

One problem with yearlings, is they may be much harder to feel. In babies it works great, I never probe or pop my babies either, but as they get larger they tend to get more muscle tone in the tail and feeling them becomes harder. Craig Kade

it has never been a problem for me with the listed snakes at any age, i can still feel the hemipenes in my 7 yr old male hog, and no i do not believe a little manipulation of the hemipenes is bad (a joke comes to mind here...something about going blind but i digress). i dont THINK you are pushing blood to engorge it, as the hemipene end has structure and not totally flacid ( somebody correct me if i am wrong here) remember just lite pressure is all you need, actually you can also just give enough pressure that the snake will pull his tail through your thumb and fore finger. also i forgot to mention but should be common sense dont do this to a snake that is about to shed.