pushing sexing probe to far???

if i was to push a probe to far into a female.. what would happen??? wouldnt blood go all over, and such??? would the wound close up after about a year????

I've not seen it happen, myself, only heard from others who have seen it happen but I don't doubt it can occur when someone inexperienced gets a little too forceful when probing. I don't know if there would be blood.. maybe? More likely just a sickening feeling of going too far and tearing the membrane.

My understanding is, they generally remain perforated, and don't seal back up the way they were before. Probably due to the fact they do have pockets, just not as deep, and much more narrow...so forcing it wider and tearing the back, when it heals, it's still deeper and wider.

Ive heard this is possible but IMO I cant see how someone can actually do this. If one uses just the end of a finger to put just enough pressure on the probe to slide it back until it stops, then hypothetically it should be impossible to puncture anything. I would think you would need to be rather forceful to get that to happen.

I certainly hope no one has ever kept pushing once the probe had stopped. I would imagine that it could cause irreversible damage to the snake. Maybe not life threatening but nothing I would want to happen. Why do you ask this question? Do you think you or someone you know has done this?

actually i got into and argument today with somebody i thought was bashing me and how i do things and this was one of the points that was made about improper sexing. and i thought it sounded ...weird:)

Well, if you are ever going to probe a snake I always have someone help me hold the snake. To ensure that it cant wiggle away or make any jerky movements. 4 hands are better than one when doing something as delicate as probing. As long as the hand holding the probe does not need to do anything other than gently slide the probe in, take a quick look at how many scales it went back, and then pull it out, there should never be a problem.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

Ive heard this is possible but IMO I cant see how someone can actually do this. If one uses just the end of a finger to put just enough pressure on the probe to slide it back until it stops, then hypothetically it should be impossible to puncture anything. I would think you would need to be rather forceful to get that to happen.

I certainly hope no one has ever kept pushing once the probe had stopped. I would imagine that it could cause irreversible damage to the snake. Maybe not life threatening but nothing I would want to happen. Why do you ask this question? Do you think you or someone you know has done this?

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A couple of points - on an adult, I don't use the end of a finger to slide the probe in, I have to use a few fingers to hold the probe and line it up correctly and gently guide it in. However, I do use ball tipped probes (when I use them at all, these days I pop 99% of the time).

Secondly - on a very young (ie - hatchling) ball python, it's quite easy, even with just a finger tip on the probe to actually puncture them, if they jump or twist suddenly as you insert the probe (see Derek's response in the other thread where he saw that happen). Even on a set of ball tipped probes, the smallest probe tends not to be ball tipped.

Bottom line - it happens - and when one probes a snake, it's recommended to probe both sides of the snake to make sure that one is not probing a female that may have accidentally been ruptured by someone other than you.

ok i know you have heard of it, i was looking for people who have had it happen, or know of people who had it happen in person thank you

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Originally Posted by moravaguy

ok i know you have heard of it, i was looking for people who have had it happen, or know of people who had it happen in person thank you

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I know that - but I wasn't responding to your question. I'm letting others do so, since you wanted additional validation other than me (who has seen it happen - I happen to have a rescued female who is deep on one side and shallow on the other - I got her that way). ;)

See who I quoted and was responding to, two posts up?

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I know that - but I wasn't responding to your question. I'm letting others do so, since you wanted additional validation other than me (who has seen it happen - I happen to have a rescued female who is deep on one side and shallow on the other - I got her that way). ;)

See who I quoted and was responding to, two posts up?

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look, im not gonna battle with you no more, i said i was sorry and if your not goning to move on then maybe you should not read MY thread you are responding to, which in the end you are responding to me, its my thread.

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Originally Posted by moravaguy

look, im not gonna battle with you no more, i said i was sorry and if your not goning to move on then maybe you should not read MY thread you are responding to, which in the end you are responding to me, its my thread.

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As an owner and admin of this site - I have to read the threads. Threads do not belong to any single person - they belong to the site.

I was NOT responding to you in my first reply, I was responding to another poster. Just because you started the thread, does not mean that every response is directed to you.

I was not "battling" with you. You would know if I was "battling" with you - TRUST me on that!

yes i understand you have to read the threads but you dont have to respond... please quit messing with me and let me post in peace, i said i was sorry so move on.

People have it about right. The snake genitalia are very delicate, and if you don't take proper caution you can definently puncture the organ.
Thanks for the tip to check both sides Robin!

question, how long should I wait until I can sex hatchlings?? what would be the best method??

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Originally Posted by DJ_Bizarre

question, how long should I wait until I can sex hatchlings?? what would be the best method??

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If you know what your doing you can pop them right after they hatch.

Yea I want to try popping them but in all honesty I have never done it before and I dont want to hurt them...

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Originally Posted by moravaguy

yes i understand you have to read the threads but you dont have to respond... please quit messing with me and let me post in peace, i said i was sorry so move on.

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Kiddo - I never was messing with you - in fact, I wasn't even responding to YOU on my initial reply.

Let.....it......go......

It's not all about you, sometimes replies have nothing to do with you! :gj:

interesting convo here lol, but Rabernet, is there any way you could give me some advice on how to learn how to "pop" a snake?

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Originally Posted by DJ_Bizarre

interesting convo here lol, but Rabernet, is there any way you could give me some advice on how to learn how to "pop" a snake?

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It's very hard to teach someone how to pop, if you're not there in person to show them how. However, the two best videos for popping, IMHO are these - Ralph's video may be a little bit clearer, but Adam's shows you exactly what you're looking for between males and females:

YouTube - 8 Ball Pythons - Popping Lessons

YouTube - PRO Poppin.........yeah booyeeeeeee

Those are great videos Robin! And checking both sides is always a good idea when probing. When my friend first taught me how to probe, he taught me to always check both sides. And after he taught me, he brought out some yearlings of both sexes (he knew, I didn't) as a "test" so he could guide me, and then make sure I was doing it right. He was a very good and pateient keeper. Practically my mentor....only he dealt mostly with hots. Seems everytime I pop though, pee and/or poo comes out. From those videos, Adam had none.....:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by moravaguy

ok i know you have heard of it, i was looking for people who have had it happen, or know of people who had it happen in person thank you

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Ok, I hate to admit this on a public form, but I have done this. It was LONG LONG ago when I was very green. I went to buy back an argentine boa from a guy that was transferring. She was one I had produced and did not want to sell but,,, well you get that story.

He had a pair of carpet pythons that had to go also. The price was very good and I took my prob kit. The "male" was the larger of the two and the guy bought "him" from a reputable breeder (so he said) I probed him and came up female, He told me no it was a male, I tried again. Now I had not probed many snakes before so I was not to sure and tried. Well it finally probed male.

Then years later (being a boa girl) I thought it strange the "male" was sitting on the eggs. What can I say they were my first eggs.

Long story short. "He" was a she, I am MUCH better at probing, thousands of snakes later. I learned don't force the issue, if unsure use a smaller probe to be sure. She is fine and has laid several clutches since. There was no blood when I probed to deep and I have never probed her since. She laid good eggs there was no point.

So im still unsure how to tell if a ball python is a female or not. I have yet to try and pop my BP only because I am a little nervous and I dont want to do anything wrong, but what exactly do you see the lets you identify if it is a female?

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Originally Posted by DJ_Bizarre

but what exactly do you see the lets you identify if it is a female?

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No hemi-penes :rolleyes:.Sorry i could not let it go by :P.Where do you live? Its best to have someone show you in my opinion :gj: