Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Up intill now I've been "lucky" and have had no problems, my females all probe 3 scales and my males all went 7 or more. This weekend a friend gave me his ball because he dosen't have time for it any more. When I probed I got 4 scales on the left side and five on the right. In the BP manual it says females can probe up to 4 scales and males probe 7 or more. I'm thinking it's a male but, I'd also like a second opinion. At 1660g. I'm praying for it to be a female.lol

I also usually probe 3 - 4 on females but about a month ago I ended up getting one that probes 5/5. I'm safely assuming it's a female but we'll know for sure when I try breeding her/him next season. Here is a bit of information you might find helpful that I got from rwoodyer:

Sometimes inexperienced probers can push past the natural stopping point and actually slightly puncture the female homologs of hemipenes. Then the females will probe deeper than expected the next time someone probes them. I usually go by the probe depth as well as visual inspection for vascularization (lots of blood vessels and a general red color) of the base of the hemipenes. Often times you cannot "pop" adults, but you can see the base of the hemipenes or homologs. In females they will be the same pink color as everything else, in males they are typically much darker red as males require the extra blood vessels to fill the hemipenes with blood during copulation. There are always exceptions to this, but it is another good indication of a male over a female. Check this before probing, since you might cause a female to look darker red by the actual probing process.
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Tosha

8.15.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
1.0.0 Angolan Python
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.3 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer

Hey, that's pretty good info...lol

Also a good thing to check for is sperm plugs (look just like they sound) around the base of the hemipenes. If you see sperm plugs (and you didn't just pull two snakes that were getting it on apart) you have a male. It is best to check for plugs a couple of times, because they are not always around when you are looking for them. Don't go by hook size or animal size (just doesn't work). A few months back I saw a 2500 gram male for sale at a local show, so not every giant ball is a female.
Another thing to consider is the size of the probe you are using, if you use a probe that is too small you are more likely to get an innaccurate reading. The probe width should be about 1/4 of the width of the vent area. This is pretty small for hatchlings (which i do not recommend probing), but may be larger than you think for adults.

good luck.

My females pretty much average 4-5 deep. My males are 9 . I have one female that went to either 6 or 7 but since she dropped eggs, I'll just call her a female.

One of the first things I try on older BPs, is to check for sperm plugs. It's a similar process as popping, only they can't hold that back. If I get plugs, I know I have a male. If I don't, then I probe. But you do have to look for damaged animals. Many people don't know how to do it and you need a real soft touch.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles