I need to learn one way or the other from someone experienced and it’ll probably be my vet. Just wondering what the majority here feels is the safest for my snakes.
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If you are inexperienced then I strongly recommend not trying anything at all. Go to a vet first and have them show you how to properly sex them. Once you gain experience it becomes just as easy to sex a snake as it would be to do something as mundane like spot cleaning.
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Like @nathan_e said if you don’t know what your doing you can hurt your animal by accident either way. However I personally prefer to pop as its quicker and less chance to injure them when they are wiggling around compared to poking a metal probe into there organ area. Just my thoughts on the subject I am sure others might feel differently then me.
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I would agree.
It’s other people’s business…only thing I hate to see is someone decide popping is too “hard” so they skip learning and go straight to probing. With the potential for injury it’s important to learn safely.
I have little to no skill in this area but I think I have 6-9 months to practice up before babies come along.
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After watching several YouTube videos I had tried popping unsuccessfully but did not use much pressure either as I was afraid to hurt my snakes. Then I read that it could potentially hurt them. Saw some other videos (Chris Hardwick) say that probing is better. I would not even think of trying that on my own. Seems like some people say pop, some probe. I see risk in both ways. I’ll contact a couple local breeders to see if they can teach me or pay the $70 vet bill and hope to get a good lesson.
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I think that’s your best bet. For one, learning from an experienced breeder how to sex a snake both by probing and popping is a win win. 2, it will help you break the ice so to speak and start to develop a network which is very handy in this hobby. The more breeders you contact and learn from the better your chances at success, either keeping snakes or breeding them.
For me popping is the best way depending on the age of the snake. Much harder to pop when they are older, and I’ve never been wrong with popping, I’ve had false reads on sex with probing.
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So this was brought up in a youtubers video yesterday and they touched on it briefly and they have before. They are for probing and probe. They stated that they were told that popping can hurt a snake so they probe. I’ve heard that probing can hurt a snake. On this very forum, while others here also probe. I’m leaning towards popping but haven’t ruled out probing. If you are inexpierenced as I am myself, I would recommend guidance from a vet or breeder. Someone at an expo would be a good start. I’ve familiarized myself with it to the point I almost feel comfortable to do it. But for my snakes safety, I want to be shown and watched atleast once before I start practicing on my own collection.
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It might seem counter-intuitive, but in my opinion, probing, when done correctly, is less invasive and stressful than popping is.
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I’ve heard both sides which is why I’m so confused!!!
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It usually comes down to personal preference though you should learn how to do both.
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That is probably what I will do. I was able to find a local breeder who is going to teach me how to pop this afternoon.
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I pop everything after first sheds. Any that doesn’t pop hemipenes I back up with a probe. Not all males will pop.
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That was suggested to me also by a breeder that I bought 2 of my snakes from. I think that is a good idea and probably what I will do eventually. Just need to learn to probe next.
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Just got a lesson on popping from a breeder. Piece of cake. Brandon Hicks and Birds and Beasts Pet Shop were really great and wouldn’t take any money for helping me out. They have a couple of snakes I will probably be picking up as soon as I make some room and get my AP enclosures that I just ordered.
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I personally don’t know the difference between probing vs popping, I know what probing is, but haven’t found much out about popping, however I can and will say, both are not recommended by me. Instead I choose the safer route and invite all to do so as well, Rare Genetics inc has a wonderful gene testing program where they take the DNA from sheds for shed testing. By doing it this way, there is no invading or risk of hurting the animal, and you can confirm gender and morph mutations! I’m currently in contact with them in hopes to release validated leopard gecko shed tests to the reptile industry as I breed Black Nights.
Now I also don’t know what kind of animal you’re inquiring about, but many reptiles can also be temperature sexed while still developing in the egg, For leopard geckos this is done in the first 22-26 days of incubation and you can set the gender before they ever hatch!
But please, consider the shed tests, it’s far less stressful to the animal and for yourself
This post was originally about ball pythons, which cannot be temperature sexed. Popping/probing ball pythons can be safe if done correctly. If you aren’t confident in the ability to do so, then sure a shed test is a definite way to go. But the cost and wait time on that for someone breeding would definitely add up.
I’d recommend learning to pop, as it’s easy and not harmful, if done correctly.
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