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Popping and stuff.

jifslayer05

jifslayer05

Night Owl
Hey guys, I have a question about popping a snake to determine gender. I read in "The Cornsnake Manual" by Bill and Kathy Love that snakes of both gender have scent glands that can confuse, er, inexperienced snake keepers like me. What can you guys tell me about this? I'm like most definitely sure that my snake is a female. How long are these magical little "Scent glands" as compared to a normal pair of hemipenes?
 
popping and stuff

hi, just started snake keeping . I personally don't like the idea of popping. Im sure if you talk to your local reptile shop would sex your snake for you already I've found mine very help and willing to with anything I am unsure of .
 
Yeah like normally that would be the case but I ended up getting mine from Petco and when I asked if they kept records of the sexes they were just like "ah that doesn't matter" which is code for "we don't know or care". I have another local pet store that I get my mice from that I may go try, or I may just pick up a probe sometime from the internet.

And I know popping sounds kind of icky when I first heard of it I was like "ewww" XD but mine is too small for me to notice those subtle differences in the tail length. I know anyone else probably could but like you she's my first one.
 
popping and stuff

hi, I'm so glad we don't have petco here. I've reading bad stuff on here with people having bad experiences. How old is your snake, if she's still young enough you could hang on till you find a reptile store or breeder that would help you out.
 
Well, about that lol, they don't keep records on the snakes. They knew how to take care of them I guess they just didn't think they were responsible for keeping up with feeding, shedding, etc. records. I know she was born sometime this year though. And with all the complaints aside, the one in my town at least knew what they were doing when it came to taking care of them, so I felt comfortable enough to get her. I would guestimate that she is a couple months old? She's small, between 13-14 inches long. I don't have her weight yet. She ate yesterday so I'll weigh her tomorrow night. And yeah I'd either have to try our other local pet store (the owner and his other employee are awesome), or a vet around here that deals with herps.
 
popping and stuff

Yeah that's good that you have a helpful shop. well at this point she still young so give it a couple months wait till she's a little bigger.
 
Quick side question because someone brought up age.

I had my snake probed by the breeder. He said it might be too early to tell at 2 months old. Then he did it as all the other snake guys watched and agreed that my snake was a male. I trust him, but should I get a second opinion? Being that the snake was two months old?
 
popping and stuff

hi, well they usually can tell by looking but anyone can make a mistake. If you want to know for sure I would ask at the reptile shop if they would do it I fine mine very helpful
 
The hemipenises 'pop out' of the vent when pressured the right way, you can easily let them slip back in and out again. They measure about 2 mm I guess. Those glances are more like protruding tiny knobs (perhaps not even 1 mm) which you only see if you are able to really open up the vent so the tissue close below the surface protrudes a tiny bit. With males the hemipenises usually pop out without the surrounding tissue also protruding. So, if you don't see penises, but neither the tissue, the vent might not be open enough to successfully determine the sex. Some baby's do pop more difficult then others.
 
When sexing by examining tails, it is the shape of the vents and tails you look at and not the exact length of the tail. This is easier to tell with older/larger snakes. A male will have a wider vent and the tail will extended parallel before tapering out into a triangle. A female will have a smoother vent with an abrupt taper to her tail. I have three snakes and one was probed by the breeder in front of me; I guessed it to be a male and I was right. This doesn't make me an expert at snake sexing, but I am fairly certain that the one snake I have that wasn't probed is a female because her tail differs from the known males. If you post a picture of your snake, with a close-up of its belly/vent area I bet some of the breeders could guess the gender.
 
If you touch the tail nearly every time you hold the snake it does get accustomed to the sensation. But that type of picture will take two people since you will need both hands for the snake. Is your snake one of the pale morphs like an amel? If so you can candle it with a bright light, I use the stove light for mine. The next time I pick up my snow I'll candle him just for you.
 
Yes it is an amel, I may go try that tonight before she eats haha. Thank you for the tip! I'm assuming I would be looking for a V-shaped object if she turned out to be a he?
 
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