Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone ever hqd a male without spurs? I have a large Rosy I assumed as female as has no spurs at all. But, she hasn't produced for me the last two years and a friend popped her and said it is a male, but when I asked to see .. couldn't get hemis to pop again. Could what he saw have been hemi folds which exist I believe in some species?

Thanks for any assitance --- Ace

I am not the authority, but I've seen many many rosies and produced my share in the past. I have yet to find a mature male that was without spurs. Of course, if a rosy didn't have spurs, I automatically called it a female, so perhaps my comment above does not help. Some females can have very small spurs, though I do not think it is common.

I guess there is one way to find out - put it in with a female next year. I would not pop mature rosies BTW.

Thanks for response ... actually my question was in regards to two different females but didn't make that clear. One I've bred without luck for last two years and the other is one I just obtained and that is the one which was popped before I had it by a friend. It was also probed and probed 8 caudal scales, but again it is fat and big, and no spurs at all just like my other females and I even have one which has very tiny reminents of spurs but breds each year.
So, if I put it with a male is there any risk of problems in Rosys or will they just not breed? I feel it is most likely a female but was even sold to the previous owner as a male I believe .. I guess there is only one way to be certain and that is to breed to male of same locale and see if I get a hook-up.

I have yet to see a male without spurs either.
Also, I've seen definite female's probed as males, so I no longer trust probing.
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Thanks,
-JC
www.rosyboas.to

Thanks for your input and sharing your knowledge and experience. I am going to go with all the input I got and my own feeling and experience ... calling it a female and hoping we get San Felipe babies. I'll let everyone know how this turns out, but female till proven otherwise is what I'll go with.

Thanks again to all that shared their knowledge with me --- Ace

It is very hard to POP adult snakes, if at all. Spurs are a good indicator but the sure fire way is probing. Be gentle & slow with this or get an experienced person to do it & use LUBRICANT.
i have had dozens of snakes of all kinds that i was unsure about, i can usually tell by the tail after 37 years of herping but Rosies can be tricky.
Take your time, be slow & gentle. I often use an eye lens to check out the spurs before i probe. I cant remember the last time i was wrong, having said that it does take time & practice.
Good luck & happy herping.