Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how old and how much does it cost to get a blood python probed

snakes can be probed at any age. usually they are probed after birth/hatching, but sometimes the breeder is not too knowledgeable or doesnt have the equipment. snakes can be taken to a qualified vet and sexed for a small fee ($5-$10) plus the cost for the office visit ($25-$35). also, if it is allowed, you can bring your snake to a reptile show and usually someone there will probe it for free (most ive ever seen anyone charge is a coke).
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0.0.1 Colombian Redtail Boa
1.1.1 Sumatran Blood Pythons
1.0 Black Blood Python
1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1 Coastal Carpet Python
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python

Hey,
It shouldn't cost you anything if done by someone at the shows. However, I'm not sure that this is always a good idea as bloods can be a bit difficult to probe if not done correctly. They are a bit feisty when probing and can present a bit of a challenge when done by someone not accustom to probing bloods. By all means, find someone that is at least accustom to probing pythons and or boas, and not someone that just keeps and works with colubrids. They are a completely different animal. JM2C!
-Angel
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In life you can fall many times, but you're only a failure, if you don't try to get back up!
Evil Canevil

I have a vet close by so should i take the blood there

that would depend entirely on the vet and his/her experience with probing snakes. Depending on the age and body weight of the bloods, you can often get a pretty good idea just by looking at them (not fool proof, esp if you don't know what you are looking for). I am still not 100% sure of the sex ratio of my group - I purchased 6 Bangkas late last year. upon unpacking, all everted glands which I initially mistook for hemipenes but upon re-exam realized my error. I attempted probing them by myself (yes, I have a LOT of experience)...not an easy thing to do accurately with freshly imported Bangkas. Since I still had questions, I took them to my vet (who used to breed Malaysians) - probing left us unsure, so we went with purely physical exam and came up with 2.2.2. We're getting together in the near future for a sexing party, now that the guys are well established and @ good body weight (ranging from 9-13 lbs) Worse comes to worse, I will cycle them, make my best guesses, put them together in 2 groups - should be pretty easy to tell at that point

The easiest way to sex wild caught sub-adult to adult bloods is to place them in a heavy pillow case with about a foot of the tail end hanging out. When W/C bloods are even slightly restrained under these conditions, males will immediately evert hemipenes and females their scent gland structures for easy identification. It will work almost 100% of the time and within a few seconds. Those experienced with probing adult bloods can tell you that it can be tough as W/C are difficult to restrain for probing and adult female bloods will routinely probe at least 1.5 inches and many times slightly more. Stick with the pillow method for larger W/C bloods as it is the most accurate method for them.

Kelly