Hi all, requesting a little help here with popping. Typically when I am sexing hatchlings, the difference is pretty noticeable. Hemipenes will pop on males with very little effort. In females, the white “horns” will usually reveal themselves .
Today I was going through the hatchling rack and I popped a snake. The white horns came out, but there was a pair of red spots that appeared directly above the scent glands, one on each side. Never seen this before and I am hesitant to try to apply greater pressure to see if they are stubborn hemipenes.
Checked some YT vids this afternoon and the one video that seemed to address this was really low-res and poor quality. Any input would be greatly appreciated. TIA.
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I just watched a video by king Austin on second ball pythons and I do remember seeing sometimes the glands will swell or get red. To put the snake down and give it some time before sexing again. He posted the video recently sounds like what you are describing.
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It’s hard to tell without being there whether you’re applying pressure, etc correctly. But both males and females will have the “white horns” which are scent glands. If you see red coloring, especially just towards the midline from the scent glands, it’s definitely worth revisiting tomorrow to see if you can get a better pop before calling them a she.
Right - I can see the scent glands on both males and females. The confusing part of popping this animal is that no hemipenes pop out (like popping a female) but there are two red dots above the glands where the hemipenes usually pop from.
My course of action here is to to let the animal put on some more weight for a few weeks and then try again. Thanks for everyone’s input.