This may be an embarrassingly stupid question but.....

PyramidScheme · 01-07-11, 10:44 AM

is there a way to figure out the sex of your snake?

Will0W783 · 01-07-11, 10:58 AM

Yes, but I would not recommend doing it yourself until you have watched others. There are two main reliable ways. The first way can only be done on a very young snake, and it involves pressing and rolling your thumb across the cloaca so the hemipenes are everted in a male. Snakes quickly gain control of their junk, so this only works the first few months and is very risky, because it's easy to hurt the delicate spine and end up with a kinked tailed snake.
The second way is much safer and, IMO, more reliable and can be done on adult snakes. It involves purchasing a set of snake probes. These are blunt ball-tipped rods that you lube up and insert into the cloaca on one side. In males, the hemipenes are inverted inside the tail, so when you insert the probe you are actually inside the hemipene pocket. Mark what point the probe stops, remove it and measure how many subcaudal scales it went. Male snakes generally probe more than 5 subcaudal scales. Females have only shallow scent glands so they generally probe 2-3 scales, but some species are different. Diamond python females can probe 5-7 subcaudals in some cases from what I've read.
Female snakes that are probed improperly can have the scent glands ruptured and will then probe as male, so you do need to know what you are doing. I'd recommend going to a reptile vet to have him/her show you how to properly do it.

If your snake is a booid (boa or python) you can get a pretty good idea by looking for the presence of spurs (claw-like things on either side of the cloaca). They are the remnants of legs and males use them to stimulate the female during courtship. Thus spurs are very small or absent on females, but large and noticeable on males. This does not work for colubrids (corns, milks, rats, etc) because they are further evolved and have no remnants of the pelvic girdle or legs.
Hope this helps a bit.

PyramidScheme · 01-07-11, 11:14 AM

absolutely helpful thank you, he/shes a BP so i'll check for the spurs. i don't trust myself to probe, nor would i really want to put it through that discomfort

thanks a lot!

Will0W783 · 01-07-11, 11:20 AM

Definitely don't probe until you've had a vet show you. It's not worth the risk. There really isn't any pressing need to know the gender unless you intend to breed it someday.

PyramidScheme · 01-07-11, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

Definitely don't probe until you've had a vet show you. It's not worth the risk. There really isn't any pressing need to know the gender unless you intend to breed it someday.

totally agreed

Lankyrob · 01-07-11, 01:27 PM

Willow, a quick question, my adult corn that i believe is female ahs spurs but reading what you put collubrids dont have spurs? Have i misread or have i got a weird snake?

Will0W783 · 01-07-11, 02:13 PM

She should not have spurs. As far as I know, no colubrids possess them. If she does have claw-like appendages protruding from her, that might be a problem....

Will0W783 · 01-07-11, 02:14 PM

As far as I know, colubrids don't have spurs, but maybe someone with more expertise on colubrids can help out? I'm more a booid person.

Marica · 01-07-11, 02:37 PM

As far as I could find doing a quick online search is that Colubrids do NOT have spurs.

Check out this thread: difference between colubrids, boas, pythons, etc.. It's even from sSnakeSs

Lankyrob · 01-07-11, 04:55 PM

Ok, lets blame the medication! she doesnt have spurs, after checking with my memory bank (wife) on one of her sheds around rhe cloaca there where two brown marks that looked as if there would have been spurs or something similar

Next time i have her out, not doing it this heavily medicated, i will have a good look at her and if i notice anything will pop up some pics.

shaunyboy · 01-08-11, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

Ok, lets blame the medication! she doesnt have spurs, after checking with my memory bank (wife) on one of her sheds around rhe cloaca there where two brown marks that looked as if there would have been spurs or something similar

Next time i have her out, not doing it this heavily medicated, i will have a good look at her and if i notice anything will pop up some pics.

are you sure she's a she mate

those 2 brown things in the shed could have been sperm plugs

which would indicate she's a he

just a thought rob

cheers shaun

totheend · 01-08-11, 02:40 PM

Checking a Ball python for spurs as a way of sexing is not going to give you an answer about what sex it is. All BPs have spurs and the size of the spur is also not going to help. The only sure way to sex your snake is to probe or pop.

Lankyrob · 01-08-11, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

are you sure she's a she mate

those 2 brown things in the shed could have been sperm plugs

which would indicate she's a he

just a thought rob

cheers shaun

TBH mate, we arent totally sure, she is a rescue so we are going on what we were told. If i get another shed with them in i will try to get pics...........

Will0W783 · 01-08-11, 06:17 PM

Spurs don't shed. If you saw brown thready things, those are sperm plugs (actually some people think they are shed hemipenal skin covering) and mean that the owner of the shed is a male, and sexually mature.

Lankyrob · 01-08-11, 06:27 PM

Sounds like our female may be a male then!! Will defo try to get some pics of the next shed if the marls are there again.