Popping BP troubles

Hey guys. I'll keep this one short and sweet. I figured I needed to learn how to pop my snakes because if I plan to breed down the like I kinda need to know my males from my females. I ran into some trouble though. I was able to 'pop' all 3 of my females just fine (which is good because my 2 normals I wasn't too sure on but I for sure know they are female) my male was an issue though. I couldnt get his hemipens to expose, even a little bit. I DID get what I believe was a sperm plug, but no hemipens. Are males harder to avert? I didn't want to press too hard when 'rolling' his tail and it was clearly annoying him so I put him back. I know he is a male but I just figured it's a skill I need to learn. Any tips? I don't wanna just press harder and break my snakes spine, even though I feel confident I am no where near hurting him. Just annoying him.

That's something that is really best learned in person so you can see how to place your finger properly and how much pressure to apply, and with adult it can be more tricky as they gain more control.

One you know the basics, pressure and finger placement it's about practice.

Try to find someone in your area that can show you are to.

It's harder in older males to get them to pop out. I don't fully trust my ability to pop so I always double check with a probe.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

That's something that is really best learned in person so you can see how to place your finger properly and how much pressure to apply, and with adult it can be more tricky as they gain more control.

One you know the basics, pressure and finger placement it's about practice.

Try to find someone in your area that can show you are to.

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I'm going to a reptile show in 3 weeks. I'll just have someone give me a hands on demonstration there, because I'd be terrified of doing it wrong and hurting my snake. Youtube can only teach you so much before you need real hands on experience.

i just bought a probe kit myself for me to learn to use, I am hoping that it will be easier for me to use and not as stressful on my babies!

Older snakes are harder to pop than younger ones. They have more tail strength. I've had no problem popping my hatchlings, but my juveniles and subadults generally don't cooperate. I can't get my male to roll out for me either. Gonna have to invest in a probe kit, I guess.