Do visible "anal spurs" mean its a male

[djc3674]

I haven't had my snakes sexed yet..I have a Columbia red-tail..6ft..and you can literally see the anal spurs. Also, when it wraps its tail around my arm..alot of times..i can feel them pinch my skin..is this a sure sign of a male?? At some point I am going to have it probed. My BP is about 20" and does not have visible anal spurs at all...is it just because its a diff species?

[Zoe]

The spur length varies by species, gender and individual snake. Males usually have bigger ones, but it is not at all a reliable sexing method, especially in boas. I'd suggest getting him sexed if you want to know for sure, or you can presume he is male going by the spurs. If you arent going to breed him, it doesn't really matter I guess.

Zoe

[Darren Hamill]

Visible spurs do not indicate the sex in Colombian Boas. The only way to properly sex these boas is by probing or popping (popping is for neonates or very small juveniles). Males will commonly probe about 6-8 scales where females only probe 2-4 scales..

Ball Pythons are in the same boat... They probe easier then the boas do with a much larger probe depths for males...

The only boid that I'm aware of that can be sexed by spurs alone are Solomon Isle Ground Boas (Candoia carinata paulsoni). The females do not have any visual spurs at all and males have very large spurs..

Hope this helps...

[djc3674]

thanks for the info people! Your right Zoe...it really doesnt matter..just my pet..but I will have them sexed at some point..so I can properly name them and then I wont have to refer to them as "it"..lol