probing corns

[spyderman]

can anyone help
how old does a corn need to be before it can be probed?
or can it be probed as soon as hatched?
or are there other ways of telling the difference like in some snakes....difference in length of tail,anal spurs etc...

[lordkovacs]

there are other ways... but unless you have done them in the past, dont' try it. bring it to someone experienced.
as far as I'm aware, i woulnd't try before 4 months old. that is just me... others more experienced may have some better advice. the other method commonly done is 'popping'. also, i think there is a relationship between how many scales appear after the vent, I just don't know what the numbers are. in some snakes, you can tell by the length of the tail. sorry couldn't be of more help...I just usually take them to a reputable herp keeper...
MIKE

[Tim_Cranwill]

Actually, people often probe their hatchlings right after their first shed. Females will probe somewhere around 2-5 sub caudle scales deep and males will probe around 10 or so. There's a noticeable difference.

Popping can be done just as early as probing but it is a bit less accurate when being attempted by a beginner. If you pop the snake and the hemipenes show up, you've got a male. If no hemipenes show up, either it's a girl OR you have a male and you just could get them to “pop out”.

Tail length and shape can be used to sex corns but it takes a bit of experience and I wouldn't rely on it if you have any breeding plans for the snakes in question. It really sucks to go all the way to the breeding point only to find out one of the snakes was sexed wrong.... trust me! :)

[Smilts]

how do you pop the snakes