BP Sexing Question

[Griggs2121]

I was curious about sexing a ball python. My friend just got a bp he adopted from a friend and we were wondering as to if its a he or she.

I know the true way of sexing them is to take the animal to someone who knows what they're donig and have the snake probed. But until then I was wondering if there was any truth to the spurs near their tail.

I know my male has the spurs and I don't think my female does. I also thought that the spur is used my males during mating, but I could be wrong there.

Do males have the spurs and females don't?

[SnakeySnakeSnake]

Both male and females have those anal "spurs".

Males should just be longer and more pronounced I believe.



But like you said, best way to know for sure is a probe or a pop.

[Griggs2121]

Ok yea, I guess I just never looked that closely at my females tail. wow. There might be something to the length of the spurs, or how pronounced they are in males vs females. I dunno. But when I got my male I noticed those spurs right away. And like I said, I just went looking for them and only then did I see them.

I also heard about the tail maybe be longer in one sex vs the next.

So anyways, probing it is.

[ARamos8]

Your local vet should be able to provide you with some guidance in this regard. The vet I use took the time to show me how to do this safely. Best of luck.

[frankykeno]

The size of spurs or shape of them (more or less curved) or the shape/length of tails are just not a reliable indicator in ball pythons, as far as I've ever been told. The only way to know for sure is to have an experienced person, whether that's your vet or a BP breeder, either pop or probe the snake. I'd rather do that and know what I'm spending time raising then make a guess and find out differently down the road.


~~Jo~~

[shavemycoinpurse]

A vet is an excellent resource - as long as they are an experienced reptile vet (not very common). Our collection's vet is a 45 minute drive from us and is one of a handful in the state.

The following link provides a good explanation of the probing technique for sexing and is authored by the Barkers at VPI:

http://www.vpi.com/9VPITipsAndTechs/...exOfSnakes.htm

[Adam_Wysocki]

Males should just be longer and more pronounced I believe.

That's a myth.

-adam