Is it a she or he ?

Well, i was playing with Nikita last night and noticed that she had something like a claw sticking out of her near the tail. Is it supposed to be there for both the female or male. The guy who sold me the bp was confident that it was a she (although he never probed her).

Both males and females have spurs. The only real way to tell is to have him/her probed by a qualified vet or breeder.

to my knowledge, males and females have spurs.

ok thx for the quick replies. Thats a relief. Dont want to end calling it Nick u know. Not that theres anything wrong with Nick :P

As far as I know, unless the snake's been probed already, there's no way to definitely know a BP's gender unless it pops out an egg. ;)

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Originally Posted by UberAlice

As far as I know, unless the snake's been probed already, there's no way to definitely know a BP's gender unless it pops out an egg. ;)

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SUPRISE! :)

Hah. Indeed. :D
I was told by the person I bought Roo from (she was a rescue) that she was male. "Did you probe her?" innocent little Tracie asks. "Naw, but it's definitely a male." Ta-da! Tracie goes home, probes, and lookie here....it's a girl.
Oh, what a difference an inch makes...

thats too funny uber! hahahahaahahaha

what a difference an inch makes

Yeah, I was surprised too, her name was gonna be Titus if she was really a boy. ;)
You can also tell gender by "popping" the hemipenes, but I've never had the guts to do it. I'd much rather do a probe than try to bend the tail back to find the snake's no-no bits.

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Originally Posted by UberAlice

You can also tell gender by "popping" the hemipenes, but I've never had the guts to do it. I'd much rather do a probe than try to bend the tail back to find the snake's no-no bits.

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You also run the risk of doing serious damage to the snake when you pop them or when you improperly probe them. Thats why i suggest unless you are trained, get to someone qualified like a vet or breeder.

Yup, that's why I've never popped them. ;)
I was taught to probe from the vet staff at the New England Aquarium, but was also taught that "popping" was extremely dangerous, and very few conditions warrant it. It's far too easy to bend the snake the wrong way, for the snake to twist, or for the hemipenes to get injured in the process.

not to mention that it just can't in any way be something that is comfortable for the snake. i saw a guy popping one of his baby bps at a show to see what sex it was for a customer and it just looked so painful and really kinda mean for the poor snake. i was looking to buy a baby at that particular show and i marked that guy right off the list of potential breeders after seeing him do that. maybe i was overreacting, because i know it is done all the time, but it just seems risky and painful.

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thats too funny uber! hahahahaahahaha

what a difference an inch makes

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You mean to tell me that size really does matter? LOL

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but it just seems risky and painful.

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I too would think so...