probing depth question.

[EdShal]

I pop everything these days, even my 2000 gram male - no problems.

However, keep in mind that someone probing an animal and doesn't know what they are doing can actually injure the animal, and it sounds like that's what could have happened to yours to probe two different lengths. Someone could have punctured her before, allowing the probe to go deeper on that one side.

humm.. so is it possible a punctured animal will still live on & become a non-breeder?

im very extra carefully when probing. a 2 person job, i will rub the vent area.. and see if she/he relax before the actual probing.

man, i need to learn how to pop.

[rabernet]

humm.. so is it possible a punctured animal will still live on & become a non-breeder?

im very extra carefully when probing. a 2 person job, i will rub the vent area.. and see if she/he relax before the actual probing.

man, i need to learn how to pop.

Doesn't necessarily mean they'll be a non-breeder, but that it's possible that someone before you was not really careful when they probed.

[EdShal]

Doesn't necessarily mean they'll be a non-breeder, but that it's possible that someone before you was not really careful when they probed.

now, that send shivers down my spine.

hope she recover & live from the accidental probing (not by me)

thanks everyone..

[Waffles13ilj]

I am not an expert on probing or breeding by an means, I am learning though. I can not find a vet or even LSU(which has a large Vet program and clinic) to do it for me.
I ran across this and I thought that it might help you a lot. I have included the link to the page too, it has a lot of info on probing but also popping.

Here is what they say:
"Smaller diameter probes also increase the chance of puncturing the female hemipenial homolog. This apparently happens with some regularity, and whenever sexing snakes, especially pythons, we have found it strongly advisable to probe both sides of the cloaca. Most people are right-handed and they tend to direct probing to the left side of the cloaca only. We occasionally find the hemipenial homolog on this side to be perforated in captive female snakes that are missexed as males; generally we find the hemipenial homolog on the right side of a female to be intact. We haven't observed perforated hemipenial homologs to cause medical problems; however, it does not appear that they ever repair.

One other pointer that may help to ascertain sex in the confusing cases that are sometimes encountered when probing snakes: males typically probe to identical depths on each side, while females may probe unequal depths, varying several subcaudals between the right and left sides, owing to differences in size, condition and stretch between female hemipenial homologs. The hemipenes of males tend to be much more uniform in structure and probe to equal depths."


http://www.vpi.com/publications/dete..._sex_of_snakes

Good luck! I hope this helps!!