sexing dumeril boa

Is it true that female dumerils lack spurs.

i believe that is true...i believe that only the male boas have the spurs (or vestigal legs to us bio-majors)

Whether true or not, probing would be the most accurate, but be careful. Have someone experienced do it until you've had a chance to become well acquainted w/the technique.


:)

*grumble, grumble* I'm STILL trying to get my herp vet to work w/me on this....but it WILL happen, Grasshopper. ;)

I just found out my answer. Males do have spurs. thanks

I believe females do to. I know female red tail boas do. They aren't nearly as noticable but they are there

I can't feel any on Carmen, my bcc, but then she always don't like me messing with her butt!

"Quit that!" *slither*

Ruby is a bit bigger than carmen(almost 6') and I can see them when I look hard. Seems weird but one of my buddies asked me why snakes don't have legs and I had to explain that some do still have "legs"

Makes sense that the spurs are more visible/noticable on an older/larger snakey girl...=)

Of course. The spurs grow with the animal just like their heads do. Imagine a 6' boa with a head the size of a neonates! lol

I've seen some females with spurs just as large as any male and males with spurs just as small as some females. Popping or probing are the only 99% to 100% sure way to sex snakes.


Sure, there are some signs such as some females may have shorter/stubby tails Vs some males have longer/slender tails. In some cases with babies instead of popping some can feel the hemis by rubbing their thumb and feeling around the area.

I prefer to pop babies and probe snakes if they are 5-6+ months of age.

The breeder I bought him from and i just confermed it throught reptiles magazine that male show the spurs. This must only be with dumeril boa.

Males do tend to have larger spurs than females, but that does not guarantee 100%. It's a good sign, but does not guarantee anything 100%.

I still recommend that either you do it yourself or get someone to either probe or pop depending on the age/size. Often times you see buyers raise snakes for 2-3yrs and when it comes time to breed they find out they aren't having much luck. Often times it turns out because they have 2 females or 2 males..kinda making it difficult to get busy is the snake world.:O

Dumerils are especially hard to sex. Within the first year of their life, they are even harder to sex. The best way to sex them during this time is to feel for their bumps in the tail. Take your finger and press firmly from the butt to the tail. Do it a few times and if it is a male you feel two bumps back to back. Females won't have these. Popping isn't even a guarantee on Dumerils when they are young. Probing is difficult too.

On the spurs; it's not reliable at all. It's a gamble.