Learning to pop... are videos enough?

[Lolo76]

I really need to learn how to sex snakes, especially now that I've started breeding... I was thinking of asking for "lessons" over at East Bay Vivarium, but I'm not sure if/when I'll be in Berkeley next. So I've been watching videos on YouTube, and think I have the concept. Is it safe to try now, or should I wait until somebody can demonstrate in person? Oh, and would you say probing or popping is easier for a newbie to master?

[OhhWatALoser]

I learned to pop when someone on here posted a video for me. I don't really see what someone doing it in front of you would really show you that a video can't. i would imagine sexing being another story since all that is done inside the snake, a video can't show that.

[Beardedragon]

Videos can be somewhat hard to learn from somethings, because they cant explain what your doing wrong if you fail at it. It took me a while to learn, not because I was doing it wrong, but because my lesser was IMPOSSIBLE to pop lol. My next snake I got it first try, and finally I poped my lesser ( Without hurting him).

[Wh00h0069]

Yes they are. I learned to pop from videos. It is pretty simple once you see someone else do it. I learned from Ralph Davis' videos. Popping is easier.

[jason79]

I also learned to pop from videos Its not very difficult. Probing is easy too but I wouldnt do it on a very small snake because the probes are so small they are like a needle. I pop young snakes and then probe females they get a bit bigger so that the probe is big enough that I'm not afraid to poke through. Probing is the only way to be sure you have a female.

[Lolo76]

Thanks for the replies! Guess I'll keep studying the videos, and give it a try on my own... thinking I will start with one of my young males, since I hear that's easiest.

[Drew87]

The Videos help, but it just takes time. Keep at it and you will get it

[Beardedragon]

Im going to add, please do not try to Probe a snake, especially small ones, off of just videos. Find someone who can do it, or get your vet to show you how to do so.

[Kryptonian]

I would have someone show you how to pop as well. Videos help but a person can demonstrate on your hand or something how much pressure to apply. You dont want to squeeze so hard you hurt the snake or to light that everything appears a female.

[CoolioTiffany]

I learned how to pop strickly from videos. When I first popped my male Spider, I saw the penes, so I knew I was doing it right. After popping my "male" normal Ball numerous times, I finally decided it was a female because I was for sure I was doing the technique right. My largest one, Candice, is extremely easy to pop, but my "male" normal is the hardest because she makes it difficult.

I learned to pop from the 8ballpython's video "Popping Lessons" and it really did show me how to pop. I've watched that video numerous times, and from watching that video I now know how to pop. I also like to watch it because I like the song on it LOL, and I STILL don't know what that song is called.. Brian uses it in his SnakeBytesTV videos too, and now it's starting to make me jealous because I don't even know what that song is called. Anywho, off topic, but I believe you CAN learn how to pop from seeing a video, and if it doesn't work the first time, go back to the video you watch and look extremely closely on how the person pulls the cloaca back, how far down the tail you rest your thumb at, how much pressure that person puts on the snake, things like that.