Popping a young BP?

Okay. I recently bought a BP, my first one, at a local petstore. I was told it was a male, but that he hadn't been probed.

So I am curious, and kinda wanna check behind the petstore and make sure it really is a boy. It is a four month old... can I pop it to check gender, or is it too old?

IF you know what you're doing, you can pop a ball python at any age. If you've never done it before, or not been taught how to do it, you may wish to look for someone in your community that has experiencing sexing ball pythons.

I've looked up how-tos on the subject, but I have no practical experience.

go on youtube and watch the videos from Ralph Davis reptiles and one form 8ballpythons which is Adam.

Watch them over and over and over and over. And when finally you feel comfortable doing so it is only best to pop on your first attempt a PROVEN MALE.

Many pop a female thinking its a male and push too hard trying to see, when in fact their seeing everything they need to see.

If you've never at least seen it done in person before i don't recommend you trying on your own. You don't want to risk hurting your snake. I had a friend show me who is a breeder and does it all the time, after that and then watching every video out there on it i tried it myself. Took me a little while to get the hang of it but now i can do it pretty quickly and accurately. Try to find someone in your area that can show you, it's the best way to learn without hurting your snake in the process.

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Originally Posted by CopperNightShade

Okay. I recently bought a BP, my first one, at a local petstore. I was told it was a male, but that he hadn't been probed.

So I am curious, and kinda wanna check behind the petstore and make sure it really is a boy. It is a four month old... can I pop it to check gender, or is it too old?

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Before you do anything, I suggest doing A LOT of research. If you don't know what your doing and did little or no research, there is a high possibility of injuring your snake. I recommend watching videos to see how people do it. I've seen many people do it differently, so try what works best for you.

If you do not feel comfortable doing this and you fear you can injure your snake, try going to a herp vet that is experienced with popping. You can also get the snake probed, but I do not suggest you doing so yourself.

Your snake is still young so it would be easier to do. When snakes are older, it's harder to pop, but it's not impossible. If you were experienced at popping you could probably pop an adult snake. Try going on YouTube and watching some vids people made of popping their BPs and the ways they did it.

Thank you all for your advice! I am going to try to find a local breeder that can help me out-I don't wanna hurt him trying it on my own.

It's a girl!

Congrats! :gj: