# Ball Pythons > BP Breeding >  Het Pied breeding plans crushed

## llovelace

I purchased this snake 2 yrs ago, with the hopes of some pieds this season.





Found out today my she is a he  :Tears: , so now I have a 1960g male  :Mad: 

This just goes to show that you can't totally rely on someones word.  I probed every other snake in my collection that hadn't been previously probed by a friend of mine last year.  

Word to the wise, own a set of probes, learn how to use them, double check for yourself when purchasing a new snake.

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## Emilio

Wow I'm so sorry Lisa who did you get him from?

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## llovelace

A reptile shop in stuart, a couple of days I noted a lock with one of my other het pieds and when I separated them I checked the card on the supposed male and thought I would weigh him, well there was a huge diff from what he weighed and what was on his card  :Surprised: , come to find out it wasn't the male it was another female het pied  :Surprised: , so then I was questioning why would 2 females be locking hmmmmmmm.

Well long story short I mated an 1101g female by accident  :Rage: , I am just gonna put her on a 5 day feed schedule while she's still eating just in case she may become gravid from stored sperm.

Hope this all makes sense Emilio  :Embarassed:

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## rdoyle

what would happen if her wight is low???

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## RichsBallPythons

> what would happen if her wight is low???


some think if a female is small she will be come eggbound. But this IMO is false. Female can become eggbound at any size, as eggs reflect the females overall health.



If your able to pop that snake you will have a better success on knowing sex over probing.

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_AaronP_ (07-14-2011),_Adam Chandler_ (01-16-2011),_Wh00h0069_ (01-16-2011)

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## rdoyle

OK thanks for that info.

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## jsmorphs2

So sorry to hear that. Its a real bummer when that happens. But look at it from the bright side, if your other male het pied isn't a good breeder you'll have a back up. I'm kind of regretting selling our het pied male cause our male pied hasn't locked up with either of our het pied girls (that I've seen). Would have been nice to have a back up.

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## ace_singapore

Yes indeed, sometimes having that extra male may turn out to be a gift intead.

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## axeman569

That is terrible. I learned to pop and probe because I am paranoid about that.

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## dragonboy4578

Sorry to hear about this. I really stinks that we have to be so careful when purchasing a new snake because of someones lack of honesty, or knowledge.

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## Stewart_Reptiles

Did you probe the animal and did you do so yourself, do you know if it has been probed previously by someone else?

Did you probe both sides?

Can you pop "him/her"?

While I do not want to give you false hope, it is possible that you have purchased a mis-sexed animal (mistake happens) it is also possible that a female probe male (hence my questions)

Should a female be injured and probing accident do happen "she could now" probe as a male which is why I would recommend not only probing GENTLY the other side but also popping the animal.

Now if it is indeed a Male there is definitely an issue since it was purchase as a female sadly the seller might not make it right, and if the animal was sold mis-sex you also have to wonder about the genetics now  :Sad:

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## SlitherinSisters

Oh man that really sucks  :Sad:

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## RhacHead

I'm sorry thats terrible news :Tears:  now It's justified to go out and get that Homozygous Pied female that youve always wanted! :Wink:

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## J.Vandegrift

That sucks. I pop every snake I buy immediately after I receive it. Mistakes can happen. Definitely best to find out about it right away. I am not a fan of probes especially with small snakes. Popping is very easy with any sized BP once you get it good at it. I used to use probes and actually made a mistake myself back when I was newer to the hobby. I actually had a friend pic up a breedable sized het male of a high dollar morph from a show last season. After he shipped it down to me I popped it and it turned out to be a female. It was from a pretty well known breeder but luckily it worked out well for me. She has 7 follicles developing now. 

Good luck with your situation. Hopefully you can find someone selling bigger het females for a decent price. If I were you I would look for someone that still had a few of last years hatchlings available and pick up at least two of them. With any luck you will be able to get at least one of them to go for next season and you will only be one season behind due to the sexing mistake.

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## llovelace

[QUOTE=Deborah;1493477]Did you probe the animal and did you do so yourself, do you know if it has been probed previously by someone else?

No idea if it was previously probed.
Did you probe both sides?

oh yeah, no doubt.
Can you pop "him/her"?

While I do not want to give you false hope, it is possible that you have purchased a mis-sexed animal (mistake happens) it is also possible that a female probe male (hence my questions)

I purchased her when she was a adult, so the mistake was mine for not double checking.

Should a female be injured and probing accident do happen "she could now" probe as a male which is why I would recommend not only probing GENTLY the other side but also popping the animal.

I probed both sides (always gently), there was no "maybe" she is def male, if you noted in my original thread, when I noticed that the other 2 pieds were mixed up, I questioned why are 2 females mating?  I know males will attempt it

Now if it is indeed a Male there is definitely an issue since it was purchase as a female sadly the seller might not make it right, and if the animal was sold mis-sex you also have to wonder about the genetics now  :Sad: 

well, that is a very valid point  :Confused:  :Confused: , but I have grown attached to him and will continue to mate him with my female het later in the season, and if all else fails I will find him a suitable female(s) 

[QUOTE=RhacHead;1493492]I'm sorry thats terrible news :Tears:  now It's justified to go out and get that Homozygous Pied female that youve always wanted! :Wink: 

My fiance said the same thing, but with moving and all the expenses that that incurs.....unless I win the lotto  :Smile: , but i have to play first lol[quote]

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## jsschrei

I'm in the same boat with my spider..."she's" a he  :Sad:

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## llovelace

Well, as my luck would have it, she is gravid, I did manage to get her weight up to 1400g, she has been refusing meals since 2/18  :Rage:

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## cinderbird

I have the breeder/seller sex the animal right in front of me when I purchase, OR I sex as soon as it arrives to keep this from happening.  :Sad:  Sorry about your plans.

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## chago11

> Well, as my luck would have it, she is gravid, I did manage to get her weight up to 1400g, she has been refusing meals since 2/18


Hope you get a few Pieds

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## llovelace

> I have the breeder/seller sex the animal right in front of me when I purchase, OR I sex as soon as it arrives to keep this from happening.  Sorry about your plans.


Thanks




> Hope you get a few Pieds


I'd be tickled all shades of pink with just 1

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## Emilio

Fingers crossed for ya Lisa. :Very Happy:

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## TheVipersHouse

well as it does suck when it happens  but mistakes  do happen  .
glad to see she took ,so good luck on getting  pieds .
learning how to probe & pop   is the best way  cause i have seen popped snakes end up with   mistakes and  the result was  wrong sexes (especially on the older ones) happened  . not so much on the younger ones . so mistakes can happen on both ends  by popin  or proben ...


but again good luck  on hitting pieds .

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## llovelace

She laid 4 good eggs, so fingers & toes are crossed.

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## Ch^10

Congrats and good luck with the odds!

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## llovelace

Well they have hatched & most have shed. Unfortunately no pieds. 2.2 



I will be keeping the top 1.1

The one male looks just like the reduced patterned sire  here is a pic of him with dad

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## LadyOhh

Congrats on the babies, and sorry you had to learn the lesson so unfortunately.

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## llovelace

Thanks Heather, it happens lol.  There's always next season right  :Very Happy:

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## Emilio

> Thanks Heather, it happens lol.  There's always next season right


Sorry you didn't get your pied this season Lisa I know you will soon. :Wink:

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## llovelace

Thanks Emilio  :Smile:

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## Quiet Tempest

Ugh.. Sorry you didn't get any pieds in the clutch. I know how disappointing that is. At least all of the eggs resulted in healthy hatchlings.   :Smile:   Hope you have better luck next season!

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## llovelace

> Ugh.. Sorry you didn't get any pieds in the clutch. I know how disappointing that is. At least all of the eggs resulted in healthy hatchlings.    Hope you have better luck next season!


Thanks, and I am happy Shrek has a minni me  :Smile:

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## Trolle

a few days ago one of my male sandboa's appeared to be a female :p
he looks like ano-y other male(spurs longer tail) but when you pop him nothing comes out and when we probed him it went as deep as my anery female :p
a female in male disguise  :Smile: 

grats with your clutch to bad there are no pieds tho

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## RyanT

He reminds me of my female that was sold to me as a het albino but never proved out to be. Either way, you have a great looking Black Back. The most attractive pattern for a "normal" to possibly have, in my opinion.  :Good Job:

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## JasonG

Ryan that is a great looking black back. Wow.

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## Lucas339

sorry to hear this lisa!  if you lived closer, you could use my probing services like you used to!

wait that sounded dirty!  my snake probing skills that is!

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## llovelace

> He reminds me of my female that was sold to me as a het albino but never proved out to be. Either way, you have a great looking Black Back. The most attractive pattern for a "normal" to possibly have, in my opinion.


If you ever decide to sell her, I want first dibs :Very Happy: 




> sorry to hear this lisa!  if you lived closer, you could use my probing services like you used to!
> 
> wait that sounded dirty!  my snake probing skills that is!


lol Lucas, I don't know why I didn't have you probe her before? 

You will be happy to know that I broke down and bought probes, since I'm not near you any longer  :Wink: .

I'll hit a home run next season, I feel it in my bones  :Very Happy:

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