sexing a ball python

First I am not going to try to sex my baby I know it can hurt her (on assumption lol)

what I want to know is how it can hurt her i pretty much see how a probe could hurt them but exactly what could happen is still a bit of a mystery to me on what popping could cause. I was just curious if any of you have experience in this area ( injured snakes) or at least are able to tell me what would happen..
Though I will do my best to find an experienced vet I would still like to know what to look for. thanks guys :)

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Originally Posted by MommaK

First I am not going to try to sex my baby I know it can hurt her (on assumption lol)

what I want to know is how it can hurt her i pretty much see how a probe could hurt them but exactly what could happen is still a bit of a mystery to me on what popping could cause. I was just curious if any of you have experience in this area ( injured snakes) or at least are able to tell me what would happen..
Though I will do my best to find an experienced vet I would still like to know what to look for. thanks guys :)

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Vets normally probe, I would find a breeder to teach you. Email him/her and maybe you guys could meet at his place or at a local reptile show.
As for popping I am not sure of what exactly happens but I get a idea of what could happen, I will let some else elaborate on how the internal workings can be hurt in specifics.

Well basically the theory is that if you push too hard or not in the correct spot you can damage or tear the internal organs. For males if you push too hard you might stress the hemipenes which could result in inverted hemipenes over time. This is fairly rare, but its always good to have someone experienced do it.

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Originally Posted by steveboos

Well basically the theory is that if you push too hard or not in the correct spot you can damage or tear the internal organs. For males if you push too hard you might stress the hemipenes which could result in inverted hemipenes over time. This is fairly rare, but its always good to have someone experienced do it.

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OMG ouchie! well thanks to Valentine Pirate I think I at least have a prospective vet for my little one :) we will see when I call later this week.

My newest ball is a little 6 month old het pied female... the breeder popped her and it left her with a big kink right above the vent. Unfortunately I didn't notice this until my wife pointed it out after we got her home. She can still pass <large> feces without a problem so I don't think eggs will be difficult either. One piece of advice I got from another breeder was to keep her on the lean, but muscular side since a fat BP will have more trouble passing eggs to begin with.

i need to learn how to sex them too but i dont know anyone that could teach me either.

easy but be careful best video to learn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMqN402TiVg

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Originally Posted by x_gilmore_x

easy but be careful best video to learn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMqN402TiVg

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Watching a video and thinking your doing it "right" is much different then being coached by someone in person who can tell you by guiding you the whole way. Telling you to move up or down, more or less pressure, etc. The guy on the video can't tell you that.
There are MANY members on this forum you should have atleast 1 who is close by that would be more than happy to meet you and teach you how to sex.

anyone in Puerto Rico? lol i have 6 babies i need to sex

Mike is right, don't try and do it yourself using a video as a guide. Regardless of how good the person in the video is you have no sense of feel. You don't know if you are using too much force or not enough.

Best thing to do is to try and find a local breeder and see if they wouldn't mind giving you a couple of lessons.

I learned by watching Ralph Davis's videos. Now i can pop Ball Pythons with ease and have popped dozens of snakes. It's just about feel and being gentle as to not damage anything.

Remember, it's like rolling a tube of tooth paste!

If you do try to learn probing from a video or website, sometimes they'll say it's enough to lube up the probe with water....it isn't.

if you do that, you run the risk of either tearing something inside the snake because it's not lubricated enough, or you can get a false female result because you don't think the probe is going in very far. Mineral oil is my stand-by, and I've heard KY jelly works, although I don't know if the snakes would get any enjoyment out of the "KY His-n-Hers Warming Sensations" or whatever it is...

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Originally Posted by TrpnBils

If you do try to learn probing from a video or website, sometimes they'll say it's enough to lube up the probe with water....it isn't.

if you do that, you run the risk of either tearing something inside the snake because it's not lubricated enough, or you can get a false female result because you don't think the probe is going in very far. Mineral oil is my stand-by, and I've heard KY jelly works, although I don't know if the snakes would get any enjoyment out of the "KY His-n-Hers Warming Sensations" or whatever it is...

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:rofl::rofl::rofl: OMG lol