Sexing crotalus atrox
 

Doesn't seem to be a thread on here on this subject. Anyone that keep atroxs do you rely solely on the tail strips as positive gender identification or would/do you pop or probe this magnificent creatures?

When I kept rattlesnakes for many years I found it fairly easy to tell from tail shape only. Once I was touring a zoo where they pointed out their breeding project of 3 rattlesnakes: I didn't want to say anything to embarrass them but they all appeared to be males to me; sure enough, the next year their newsletter mentioned they eventually reached that conclusion on their own. But it does take practice to do this visually, back then I lived with quite a few.