How to tell the sex of a corn

[Dastuff]

How do you tell the sex of a corn? At what age can this be found out (to some degree of sureness)?

Thanks!

[Neil]

There are three main ways to tell the sex of a corn, two of which are more reliable than the other.

-'popping'- This means applying pressure from just below the vent and pushing very lightly in the direction of the head. If you do this to a male then his hemipenes should 'pop' out and nothing will happen with a female. This is a fairly reliable way of sexing snakes. This method doesn't really work with adults and works the best with very young snakes.

-'probing'- This should only be done by the experienced and involves sticking a probe into the vent and down towards the tail. In males, the probe will enter further into the snakes body than in a female. This is even more reliable.

-'tails'- This is the least reliable way of sexing but the simplest. Males' tails are longer than females and fatter at the top. Males' tails stay the same thickness for an inch or so after the vent and then start to taper. In females, the tails taper much more dramatically right after the vent with no 'fat' bit at the top.

[Reptiles=3]

that sounds like it would work but then what do you do once you popp out a snakes hemi-penis will it put itself back in or do u have to !! please respond!!! thanks in advance!!

[srw3897]

Don't worry they'll go back in by themselves.

[HomeBreeder]

I wouldn't go poping or probing your snakes if you dont know exactly what you are doing.

This has been said before but you should have your breeder or vet sex your herps. You can also post tail pics and ask, ,which is not all that reliable. You can also become a member of your local herp society and get hands-on training from an expert. If you want to risk your snakes life, health, or ability to breed, however, you should at least spend the $15 it takes to buy Dr Sewards "Determining Sex in Snakes" video.

^Curtis

[little twiglet]

there is no way an untrained person should start probing there snakes.
if u get a pet u should be prepared to pay any of the cost that go with, it dont start with home treatments you wouldn't do it with ur children so y do it with ur pets!

[Wa$ted]

now i would never probe cause i never did it and its too dangerous for an amateur but popping,,is that dangerous too?

[mattsnake]

yah popping can be dangerous if it is not done properly.

[Gregg]

Dang, I must have the best vet in the world! (Personal opinion)

He probed a third of all my 2003 neonates for me for the price of his pick of a breed pair. He also has offered to instruct me in the way to safely probe a baby snake, so I'll be taking back more for an educative visit. His personal position is that popping should never be done, since probing is safer for the snake and more accurate.

If he told me that it would cost $100.00, I would do it. It's better to be knowledgable, i.e., instructed and experienced.

[h0mersimps0n]

Where can I purchase that video tape you speak of on sexing corns..

I am so frustrated, I've been trying to (CAREFULLY!) pop a few of my "to be sold" normals and all I get is poo :(

Hoping someone will be able to better instruct me at the monroeville show, see if I can make some friends there...

grrrrr

[Chip]

popping is every bit as reliable as probing, at least with corns. It's also quicker and less stressful on the nervous hatchings. At least if you know how to do it. As mentioned before, don't do it on a snake more than a month or two old. Kathy Love's book describes the process as well as words could, but you really just need to do it on a known pair a few times until it becomes second-nature. I can pop a whole clutch in under 30 minutes. I pop when segregating them to their own cages right after hatching, and again (to double check) before selling.
I had the assistance of a very experienced prober this season and I caught two mistakes on his end, I was 100%. Perhaps on the second popping, I'll catch an error, but seldom do.
I'm not boasting about my abilities, just the accuracy of popping. For the record, I've sold lots (hundreds?) of snakes over the years and have never had anyone let me know I sold the a mis-sexed animal. Granted, many probably wound up as pets, but I think Rich, Kathy, Don Soderburg and most other big breeders would back me up on the merits of determining sex using this method.

[mattsnake]

I heard that you can sex an amel. hatchling by holding it up to a light and see if it has hemipenes or not. Reliable at all?

[Chip]

Assuming you know what you're looking for, it's right there (or not if it's a gal)! I wouldn't use that as my sexing method, but I tried it on a pair of motley amels, and I could see surprisingly well into their bodies.