How accurate is probing a snake for sexing?

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Chadleystar

Active Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
173
Reaction score
0
Location
Carins
Hi all,

I wanted to find out how accurate is probing if done correctly? I was not that it should only be used as a guideline and could not be trusted. Whats your opinion?
 
Short of them telling you, as accurate as it gets...
 
Depends who does it
I agree depends on who does it, a jungle I brought home was sold by a breeder as a female, not a female, I probed and though I may have been mistaken, one sure fire way to find out if I was wrong was to introduce her to my boy when the time was right..The intro was a very quick full on wrestle...hmm well I guess she is a he lol..but as long as the person doing it knows what they're doing it is very accurate :)
 
Even very experienced keepers get it wrong sometimes in hatchies. I have now had two pythons sourced from VERY reputable breeders who have got it wrong in their hatchies.
 
Even very experienced keepers get it wrong sometimes in hatchies. I have now had two pythons sourced from VERY reputable breeders who have got it wrong in their hatchies.
Yes that's true with hatchies I guess, the jungle I was referring too was 2 when she was sold and the breeder was adamant that he was a she :)
 
I had two adult jungles probed by one of the most experienced herpers in the country. Both probed to be definite males. Both layed eggs. I now take any sexing with a grain of salt regardless of who does it.
 
I had two corn snakes probed by someone who knew what they were doing, both were probed female, two years later they both changed sex to female.

Kindest regards

Endeavour
 
I had two corn snakes probed by someone who knew what they were doing, both were probed female, two years later they both changed sex to female.
If they were probed female how did they change to female?
 
Really depends on the person doing the probing......some males are simple.....if you seem to almost loose the probe its not a female....problem runs with shallow males/deep females and even some normal females. I have had them tense up that much that they can give you a bit of grief. As standard practice i probe any female in both sides to confirm. I always seem to have one or 2 in a clutch that seem unclear so I remain undecided on those and will probe again later on......
 
If they were probed female how did they change to female?

That's a very good point, well spotted, what I meant to write was that two years later they had both changed sex to male.

Kindest regards

Endeavour
 
I have had a couple of different snakes that have changed sex,also some inconclusive results from probing,some aren't 100% male or female
 
Probing can be very accurate (99%) as long as the person knows what he/she is doing and sticks to some ground rules:
1/ Never probe a snake that is close to sloughing, the sperm plugs in males can restrict penetration of the probe and male could be mistaken for a female a female.
2/ Use the right size probe.
3/ Keep the probe in a glass of warm water (no one likes a piece of cold steel showed up their cloaca) and lubricate it before inserting.
4/ If you think it's a female, probe both sides to be sure, no need to probe both sides if the probe goes long way in.
5/ If in doubt, repeat the probing straight after the next slough.
6/ Handle the snake for a while before probing, touching at around the cloaca with (warm) fingers, it helps the snake to relax.
7/ Best to have someone to assist you with restraining the snake, so you can concentrate on the probing job.
Of course, steady hands, patience and focus is needed too, it's not something you do in hurry or when you having a blond day. :)

cheers
Michael
 
Hi i was wondering if anyone knew a reptile breeder in Bundaberg that can probe i would like to learn how i dont want to do trial and error as it can damage the reproductive organs
 
You can also try popping the snake, its less invasive than probing and its easier to do it yourself. I can't explain properly how to do it but theres tons of vids on youtube.
 
I have not had success popping snakes that are over a few months old. I can pop Hatchy's no problem. They are soft and their muscles are weaker. You are more than likely to do damage if you pop them when they are year or older. Has anybody else had succes popping older snakes? :)
 
I popped my girl at 8 months, did it quite a number of times over a few days just to be sure. Low and behold no penises. :)
 
Not 100% but you can't really be without an ultrasound or seeing it lay eggs. I'm about 80% sure though lolol

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top