Alright, I've seen many varied opinions on popping ball pythons after a certain age. Is there a "no-no" age at which you shouldn't pop a snake?

I have an adult normal, approximately 5 years old, that I got from a friend who took it in as a rescue. She told me the snake was a female, but I have never actually taken the time to probe it and confirm. I'm currently out of vaseline to lube my probe, so I'm holding off on probing, but for the life of me can't remember to pick any up when I'm at the store and the need to know is killing me. However, obviously, I don't want to hurt my girl/boy!

So is there an age to stop popping? I know adults have more developed muscle control than juveniles, but if done properly, is it okay? And refresh my memory, when probing it's 2-4 scales deep for female and 7-9+ for male, with the 5-6 scale range kind of being the "limbo" zone?

Thanks everyone!