Popping???????

Why is it that some are against popping older snakes and some are for it? Which side is right? I'm farely new to the sexing part of the deal and I think it's the most controversial , I got some probes and I'm waiting til I learn the right way to use them but to be honest from what I've seen popping at least look's safer.What do you guy's think?

When sexing an adult, I always try popping first, then I probe. If I can pop his 'penes, I don't bother probing. If no 'penes, then comes the probe to verify it's a female. The problem with only popping adults is that males have pretty good muscular control of the hemipenes, so you may not see hemipenes if it is not done correctly, or if he is just not letting them come out. Probing, if done correctly, is very safe. If you use the correct sized probe, a little lube, and good technique, there is really nothing to worry about. The more you pop and probe, the easier it is to feel confident with your methods, and the less you worry about screwing anything up. Happy probing!!

-Evan

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Originally Posted by emilio

Why is it that some are against popping older snakes and some are for it? Which side is right? I'm farely new to the sexing part of the deal and I think it's the most controversial , I got some probes and I'm waiting til I learn the right way to use them but to be honest from what I've seen popping at least look's safer.What do you guy's think?

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Emilio,i dont think some are against it,its just kinda unreliable for most when it comes to Adults and some babies.Once you start probing and popping you will see the differances.I have been probing now for about two years and i make a mistake every now and then.Perfect example i brought home two adult ball pythons a couple weeks back that i probed at first as females(i had no lubricant).Well i get home and take them to a freind for a second opinion and low and behold i had two MALES:oops: .Well of course they went back:P .Now the popping i am better at the corn snakes then the ball pythons at this time.It takes practice practice and more practice.

Thanks alot guy's hopefully Adam will chime in on this one , he's a real advocate of popping if I remember right.

I learned to probe first then recently to pop. I like knowing both and using both to check myself as I'm still learning to sex snakes of different sizes. I know when I tried to probe the big 6 foot plus BCI it wasn't fun and I'd likely never have been able to pop him. One touch with the probe and he was flexing those big muscles and giving me the mean snake look. I'm sure he wondered what kind of freak this human was messing about down there LOL. The BP's are way easier to both probe and pop.