Everyone who breeds snakes had to have had a "first time" for determining the sex of a snake.

How did you go about learning to do it yourself? Did you just watch/read about how to probe and/or pop, and give it a shot? Did you have one-on-one instruction from a vet or other person well-practiced in sexing snakes?

It's one of those skills I have yet to acquire, and am thinking about hitting up one of the herp vets recommended by the MN herpetological society to show me the ropes, verify my coastal carpet's sex, and get some practice in myself with someone watching over my shoulder.