Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been raising up 4 mussuranas, presumably 2.2. Visually, they appear to be two pairs with varying tail bulges, but my "females" are probing deep. Is this common in mussuranas? What kind of probing depths are you getting on your females?

Thanks,

Bryant King

Hey BK,

Mussuranas are pretty difficult to sex because they're just so strong. Here's what David Fabius told me a while ago:
"probing in mus is sometimes iffy, as some females probe at 8 scales deep.
Real males should be 12 and up, however there is always the middle where you dont know."

My vet and I have a pretty good record together with sexing them, but recently had one that was sexed female probe later as a male. Visually, adult males have a bulge in the vent that's pretty easy to see.

Doug T

Doug Taylor Reptiles

Good to hear. For now, I will trust my eyes and the previous popping of them when babies over my probing results.

Thank you,

Bryant King

Doug is right on the money here.

I've popped (or attempted to pop) hundreds of snakes of various species, and mussurana have been the most difficult to sex in my opinion. I can't seem to get the males to pop. I've had a lot more success probing them. As for probe depths, my females have probed fairly shallow (3-6 scales) and the males seem to be more like 10-12 scales.

The good news is that they grow quickly, and the bulging on the males becomes more and more conspicuous as they grow.

My $.02