We just had the rug jerked out from under us!

[M&J in NC]

As some of you may know, we recently bought a 10 y/o female off Craig's List. The purchase turned out to be a rescue of sorts...



The people we got her from were questionable to say the least. So today we took her to our local pet store to have her sexed because she is too big to pop. Well she is actually a HE. I was a little disappointed but not totally surprised considering his previous owners. And if that's not enough, last night we bought an 08 lemon pastel male to breed her to. He should be here Tuesday.

When he probed him/her it was only about 3/4'' deep. An inch at the most.

[demonicchild]

Is it just me or is he a bit thin? I only have mine to compare him to, so I'm not sure.

[M&J in NC]

Yes he is a little thin. He is currently off food, but still weighs 1,587 grams.

[frankykeno]

Just to be absolutely sure I'd have asked them to pop the snake to visualize the hemipenes. You can try it yourself. There's videos over on you tube by both Adam Wysocki and Ralph Davies to show you how. I know I'd want to see the pene's before I relied on anyone's probing skills. Sorry but on the whole I just don't trust pet store reptile "experts".

[mainbutter]

When he probed him/her it was only about 3/4'' deep. An inch at the most.

I'm a little confused on why you chose to use the qualifier "only", as males probe deeper than females. Do you think the person who probed did so incorrectly?

[MarkS]

I wouldn't be so quick to trust the pet store either. Despite what some people may claim, ball pythons can be tricky to sex. 3/4" to an inch is not very deep judging by the size of the animal. See if you can pop some sperm plugs out of him.

[Patrick Long]

See if you can pop some sperm plugs out of him.

Watch your eyes!!!!

[M&J in NC]

Do you think the person who probed did so incorrectly?

I don't know how to probe a snake, therefore I can't say that he did it incorrectly. I do however question his verdict for several reasons. I've watched all the probing videos on YouTube, and this guy's technique was like no other. He didn't even use lube. He just poked around some and said "Male." Maybe he's so good that he can sex one that quick and easy. Or maybe he just wanted my $5, which is what he charged.

I know how to pop younger, smaller BPs, but this snake is too big and thick. I can't get him/her to budge. I'd like to take her to the show in May and get a second, third and fourth opinion.

[ChristinaP]

I learned the hard way not to trust pet stores. I'm so glad I found this forum because I was doing things TOTALLY wrong for my poor guy. Now I'm up to snuff, and will never ask a pet store for advice again.

I have no idea how to sex snakes, I'm also going on what the pet store says........ soooooooo