Sexing Ball Pythons
Sexing Ball Pythons should only be done by an experienced reptile keeper or breeder. Common methods include probing, manual sexing, and briefly placing two snakes together to observe their behavior. This must never be done unsupervised. If the two snakes become combative, they are usually males. Probing is a reliable way to determine sex, and with manual sexing you can sometimes see the hemipenes in males.
Do not attempt any of these sexing Ball Pythons techniques if you are not an experienced keeper or breeder. You can easily cause physical damage to the snake. Unfortunately, I have seen so‑called experienced reptile keepers recklessly giving instructions online to novices on how to manually sex their snakes without warning them about the risks. This is not only irresponsible, but it could also create liability if the snake is injured during the sexing process.
Some people claim you can visually tell males from females by tail girth or spur size, but this method is unreliable and often inaccurate. Older females generally have a larger overall girth than males, so their tails may appear stouter, but this is not always the case and should not be relied on for sexing Ball Pythons.
I personally use manual sexing first and then probe if needed. When you are working with sub‑adults or adults, manual sexing becomes much more difficult, and probing may be necessary. With adult Ball Pythons, it is safer to have two people involved when performing these procedures.
I hope this information helps and maybe prevents an inexperienced keeper from accidentally harming their snake while sexing Ball Pythons.
Below is a video in which Ralph Davis demonstrates how to manually sex baby Ball Pythons. You should have an experienced breeder show you how to perform this technique. If you choose to try it without experienced supervision, you are putting your snake at risk of injury.
These are some of the guidelines for beginners. I hope you find this information helpful. Happy Herping!
Best of luck,
Living Art Reptiles™.
Source Information:
Living Art Reptiles.
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