Sexing hatchling...

[TigerLilyLeos]

Hi all i tried to "pop" my new baby, I have watched Cathy's video, and am sure i did it right with the right pressure, I did it on thursday and again today with both times popping female, when i went and pressed there isn't really anything there except a "skin and bone feel like the rest of the tail tip, all the way to the vent, nothing squishy at all, i've included several pics, because her tail tapers very sharply immediately after the vent. i was just wondering what anyone with more experience at it thinks, to me I think female, there doesn't seem to even be anywhere for there to be any hemipenes at.

What do you think??
I know pictures can be hard and not always accurate I was just wondering....

 

[Blue Apple Herps]

Sexing by tail is very unreliable. Is there a local breeder or a show coming up soon around you? They could show you how to do it and tell you what your snake is by popping.

 

[TigerLilyLeos]

I don't know of any breeders and the only show thats comming is 2 hours away. I did the popping but I'm not saying I did it perfect, I did it just like the video, is there anyway to describe how much pressure you have to use, I started out light and used progressively more pressure. there didn't seem to even be anything to press on other then the bones of her tail. I'll have to try to find a breeder I guess...

 

[bekers71]

Popping is a great method for sexing but there is one other way you can try. Get a very bright light, hold you snakes tail in front of it, not touching the light of course. Looking from the belly side, you should be able to see into the vent and tail. If you see what looks like a dark line/string going from the vent up through the tail it's a male. If you see no line it's a female. Although this is not 100% accurate it works most of the time. This only works with albinos though so if you ever get an anery or normal you wouldn't be able to use this method.

 

[spirit975]

I agree that sexing via tail shape is very inaccurate.
When popping, pressure wise i see it as using enough pressure to squash a cooked pea, but don`t forget you have to roll your thumb and not just press, the idea is to get to the end of the hemipenes in a male and "roll" them out. You won`t feel them externally, ie squashy etc as at hatchling age they are only around 1mm in length and about as thick as a biro nib if that.

 

[kathylove]

If you use the visual light method mentioned above, the lines in the tail are usually a purplish color - it is the blood supply to the hemipenes. So if you can see a little purplish color on the ventral side, below the vent, that indicates a male.

We have some members from Az here - maybe they would help. There is also a herp society, I think both in Phoenix and Tucson. You could probably go to one of the meetings with your snake and get some help. There will be an expo in Tucson in the next couple of weeks. What part of Az are you in?

 

[TigerLilyLeos]

If you use the visual light method mentioned above, the lines in the tail are usually a purplish color - it is the blood supply to the hemipenes. So if you can see a little purplish color on the ventral side, below the vent, that indicates a male.

We have some members from Az here - maybe they would help. There is also a herp society, I think both in Phoenix and Tucson. You could probably go to one of the meetings with your snake and get some help. There will be an expo in Tucson in the next couple of weeks. What part of Az are you in?

I will Have to try the light method tomorrow night or thursday, it was time to feed again last night so I had already fed her before I got on the computer...

I live in Phoenix and can't make it to the Tuscon show I wish i could. Your video was really good by the way

 

[tyflier]

Based on tail length, I would guess female...but this is unreliable, at best...

 

[Jimmysan00]

It's a female! I can't believe anyone would honestly think it was a male. Look how the tail is like a carrot. My snake is a female and has the same tail, not to mention i've popped her myself.

 

[TigerLilyLeos]

well i got her out tonight and used the light method mentioned above and the only thing I could see "inside" her body was the poo farther up inside her, nothing atall around her tail the tail after the vent looks the same all the way to the tip. hopefully all of these things together means I have a female. I will eventually get her probed by someone who knows what they are doing. but for now I think I'm convinced enough that its a girl not that I care I just wanted to know for naming purposes right now, and maybe breeding later. Thanks everyone for your reply's!!!

 

[Iguanagirl8662]

It's a female! I can't believe anyone would honestly think it was a male. Look how the tail is like a carrot. My snake is a female and has the same tail, not to mention i've popped her myself.

It's really hard if not almost impossible to tell the sex by the shape of the tail when they are hatchlings. When they get bigger and older it's not as hard to tell.

 

[Drewby07]

Hey Jimmysan - having one corn does not make you an expert.

I have 28 snakes and I just found out last week that one of mine was mis-sexed.

 

[Jimmysan00]

Never said i was an expert sorry if i came off that way. But if you guys look at the polls they would agree with my claim.

 

[Iguanagirl8662]

Never said i was an expert sorry if i came off that way. But if you guys look at the polls they would agree with my claim.

I didn't mean it to be mean or anything and I am definitely not an expert either. This is just what I've learned on here. As for the poll they are most likely guesses.