Help with sexing

Originally Posted by PlatinumRosePythons

The second photo is a pic of my lesser 'male'. Dyou you think he's a she?

I see more male in that second pic so I think your ok on that one , but it looks a bit irritated, almost like he has been popped a few times and the hemipenes don't want to fully come out. That could mean your popping method is a bit off, or the male in question is a bit older and has more developed muscles. Good investment on the probes, it's up to you but I would recomend getting probes that have a small ball at the end of the probe, this acts as a stopper preventing you from going to far.

Originally Posted by Dbz4246

I see more male in that second pic so I think your ok on that one , but it looks a bit irritated, almost like he has been popped a few times and the hemipenes don't want to fully come out. That could mean your popping method is a bit off, or the male in question is a bit older and has more developed muscles. Good investment on the probes, it's up to you but I would recomend getting probes that have a small ball at the end of the probe, this acts as a stopper preventing you from going to far.

I got the 8 peice kit with ball tips from Reptile basics. How do you know which size probe to use on a snake? Obviously the smallest ones are for hatchlings but the other sizes i'm unsure about.

Just a little bit of my .02 cents, but when i was learning to pop and then later on probe, i had a very experienced breeder show me how to do it safely. I think it was much more helpful seeing it done in person and then having him walk me through it as i tried my first few attempts at popping. In a video, no one can see you on the other side of that screen with the snake in your hands and say 'not quite, a little more roll or 'too hard'. Then before i even.boight a probe kit, i happened to be with him and he had his, so we again practiced on all my snakes with him showing me first and knowing male or female juat so i knew what to feel for before i went jamming a probe in on my own to an unknown sex snake. Probing is definatly something i didnt want to just try without seeing it first hand, but again, thats just me.

Even if you went to a local reptile shop or better yet a reptile expo and find someone who has a minute to give you a good hands on lesson. I find it like riding a bike, once you get the perfect feel, you never loose it and youll be able to pop and probe any snake you want! (well almost any, i still have trouble probing the big pythons with multiple people on hand lol) Best of luck!

Originally Posted by KRAZE

Just a little bit of my .02 cents, but when i was learning to pop and then later on probe, i had a very experienced breeder show me how to do it safely. I think it was much more helpful seeing it done in person and then having him walk me through it as i tried my first few attempts at popping. In a video, no one can see you on the other side of that screen with the snake in your hands and say 'not quite, a little more roll or 'too hard'. Then before i even.boight a probe kit, i happened to be with him and he had his, so we again practiced on all my snakes with him showing me first and knowing male or female juat so i knew what to feel for before i went jamming a probe in on my own to an unknown sex snake. Probing is definatly something i didnt want to just try without seeing it first hand, but again, thats just me.

Even if you went to a local reptile shop or better yet a reptile expo and find someone who has a minute to give you a good hands on lesson. I find it like riding a bike, once you get the perfect feel, you never loose it and youll be able to pop and probe any snake you want! (well almost any, i still have trouble probing the big pythons with multiple people on hand lol) Best of luck!

Don't really have that around here unfourtunatly. The closest ball python breeder is 3 hours away and there is no experianced anything around here (unless you consider petsmart experianced. i sure dont!). Personally, I 'get' probing more than I do popping. I think popping is just to difficult for me.

Originally Posted by PlatinumRosePythons

I got the 8 peice kit with ball tips from Reptile basics. How do you know which size probe to use on a snake? Obviously the smallest ones are for hatchlings but the other sizes i'm unsure about.

As long as the probe isn't to big, your fine

Originally Posted by PlatinumRosePythons

Don't really have that around here unfourtunatly. The closest ball python breeder is 3 hours away and there is no experianced anything around here (unless you consider petsmart experianced. i sure dont!). Personally, I 'get' probing more than I do popping. I think popping is just to difficult for me.

Your snake vet ought to be able to show you how to probe. That's where I learned.

Originally Posted by PlatinumRosePythons

I got the 8 peice kit with ball tips from Reptile basics. How do you know which size probe to use on a snake? Obviously the smallest ones are for hatchlings but the other sizes i'm unsure about.

I bought it and barely used it again (I think I even created a thread on here requesting sizing and no one knew) and two of the probes are the same exact size. I wouldn't give up on it though, but personally, I think popping is more accurate with ball pythons and would keep working on getting that right. With probing, scale counts can be too close to both sexes. Using a probe that is slightly too big wont pass into a hemipene and will give the feeling that it's a female. If the probe is too small, I heard it can pass through a female and give the reading of a male. It just ended up being too much for me. Once I got a good eye for popping, I get it right every time without question.