Best Time to Sex a Hatchie?

[rodentrancher]

We've had various opinions on this subject. Some say it's ok to probe a hatchie. Others say it's not a good idea.? Our hatchie was born in Jan this year. ??? All opinions appreciated. Should we leave it for a while till its older? Thanks, Cheryl

 

[bigguy]

Any good breeder should be able to sex a hatchling python from the day it hatches. Whats the best time to sex them. Easy, whenever someone has a set of probes and the knowledge to use them.

 

[Guest]

Whenever u want to get it sexed (from a profesional though).

 

[jezza]

yes make sure they know what they doin, have heard some pretty bad stories of ppl who "thought they knew wat they were doin"!

 

[angelrose]

I learnt how to probe this week at ANIMAL ATTRACTION and have since probed to confirm the sex of every snake i own with no trouble at all. The secret is to be very gentle and let the snke do it for you. matt actually gave me a very good tip, find some road kill and practice on that till you get it right, the practice some more. If you find someone who knows what they are doing, and have the set of probes inc the small little hatchie probe... then i don't see a prob anytime.....

Angel

 

[herptrader]

Sexing hatchlings on the day they hatch can be fairly easy as the males tend to pop with little or no effort when you stretch them out to feed them.

When probing I would suggest waiting as long as you can... and only do it if you have to. If something pops put the probe away. The smallest of the probes commonly available is probably too big for anthing under about 30 grams.

When sexing young pythons it is hard to be certain with probing much of the time. Sometimes you are sure and sometimes you arrive at your conclusion on the balance of probabilities.

 

[playwell]

I was told by a very experienced Reptile vet that popping could be bad. but many do it with out probs.

It is better to wait to probe until at least a yearling, then even still my be too early.

 

[bigguy]

Herptrader, you are the first person, possably in the world to feed hatchlings on the day they hatch :lol:

And who told you you can't probe, or should not probe a snake under 30 gms. I can easily probe hatchling Childreni weighing less then 10grms. You just need the correct probes which I have .

Also, once you know how to probe, you become very accurate even with day old hatchlings. I would claim about a 99.5% accuracy rate and have rarely got it wrong.

 

[instar]

Put a high heeled shoe in the tub with it, if its comfortable in the shoe its a female!

 

[indicus]

"I would agree it may not be that hard to probe a hatchy snake....if you know what your doing, even then it 's, as know a delicate procedure and if any damage was to accure it would become evident when one tried to breed them in the future.....I would suggest if you dont know, dont try it on a small hatchy, give it to someone who can. Still if you can wait a little longer, all better....."

 

[angelrose]

Just my opinion, but i found the smaller they are, the easier they are to probe.... they have less muscle tone to resist and therefore make it far easier to do as you like without resistance...

Angel

 

[indicus]

"Maybe so Angel, with experience thats fine, but it is still a delicate procedure, and i'm sure there has been animals probed male when they were females by those with a heavy hand,......with care is all i'm saying"

 

[africancichlidau]

Best Time to Sex a Hatchie?

About 1630hrs.

 

[BROWNS]

Just my opinion, but i found the smaller they are, the easier they are to probe.... they have less muscle tone to resist and therefore make it far easier to do as you like without resistance...

Angel

Are you speaking from experience angel?How many hatchies and older animals have you probed?It's not hard to stuff up and turn a male into a female as indicus stated.....I would suggest unless you're a big breeder or are in a real hurry to know the sex of a snake and have the experience to do so to wait till they're a bit bigger than a hatchie.

There is also a way i've been shown without actually probing to sex an animal...hard to explain and i think popping them is cruel!!!

 

[angelrose]

Re: RE: Best Time to Sex a Hatchie?

"Maybe so Angel, with experience thats fine, but it is still a delicate procedure, and i'm sure there has been animals probed male when they were females by those with a heavy hand,......with care is all i'm saying"

Im not suggesting someone with no experience go out and start probing a damn hatchie T, im simpley saying that hatchie are easier to probe than say a 2m olive with a bad attitude... thats all.....

Best Time to Sex a Hatchie?

About 1630hrs.

Hahahahahaha... smartarse....

Just my opinion, but i found the smaller they are, the easier they are to probe.... they have less muscle tone to resist and therefore make it far easier to do as you like without resistance...

Angel

Are you speaking from experience angel?How many hatchies and older animals have you probed?It's not hard to stuff up and turn a male into a female as indicus stated.....I would suggest unless you're a big breeder or are in a real hurry to know the sex of a snake and have the experience to do so to wait till they're a bit bigger than a hatchie.

There is also a way i've been shown without actually probing to sex an animal...hard to explain and i think popping them is cruel!!!

Yes i am speaking from experience with my own animals i have 16 ranging from hatchies to 4yo's and i find the hatchies 100% easier to probe. i have probed all of my animals successfully, and accurately and i dont see why people make mistakes if they do it gently and correctly, i dont think there is a problem with probing hatchies if you have the tools and experience nessessary to do it.... thats just my opinion. And no i do not suggest ANYONE probe ANYTHING without some teaching and experience on dead animals first. I dont know what popping is, but i have heard bad things about it like it can damage the genetalia if not carefull... therefore probing would be the best option.

As for being in a hurry to sex a hatchy, i sexed mine to know which other sex i needed to buy to make a possible match..... whats wrong with that... im sure many people who wish to breed later on, would need to know the sex to know what to buy, otherwise whats the point of owning 2 unsexed snakes..... you just going to hope they are a pair? Im finishing now, as this is boiling my blood.... thats alll

Angel

 

[rodentrancher]

RE: Re: RE: Best Time to Sex a Hatchie?

Well, we aren't going to do it ourselves, that's for sure! We've got no idea. Might take it down to Tim at URS, he's already said he'd do it for us, as we want to get an unrelated male or female(whatever the case may be after sexing) Cheers Cheryl

 

[herptrader]

Re: RE: Best Time to Sex a Hatchie?

Herptrader, you are the first person, possably in the world to feed hatchlings on the day they hatch :lol:

That should have read "stretch them out to measure them" ;-)

And who told you you can't probe, or should not probe a snake under 30 gms. I can easily probe hatchling Childreni weighing less then 10grms. You just need the correct probes which I have .

Also, once you know how to probe, you become very accurate even with day old hatchlings. I would claim about a 99.5% accuracy rate and have rarely got it wrong.

I know that you are highly skilled at this. It would take exceptionally good feel to probe something as tiny as 7g. To me this is something that should not be commonly attempted by somebody lacking experience.

 

[instar]

RE: Re: RE: Best Time to Sex a Hatchie?

Atleast take it out to Dinner First!

 

[herptrader]

Re: RE: Best Time to Sex a Hatchie?

If you need to apply lots of force then yes. But if you are very gentle many of the boys can pop fairly easily with little or no force. If this happens it is a lot less stress than probing.

Maxwell in the Chondro book recomends not trying to sex Chondros before they are quite old because of potential spinal damage (to which Chondros are particualry prone).

I was told by a very experienced Reptile vet that popping could be bad. but many do it with out probs.

It is better to wait to probe until at least a yearling, then even still my be too early.

 

[stiffler]

RE: Re: RE: Best Time to Sex a Hatchie?

I have heard that diamonds are harder to sex as young hatchies for some reason.
I was also told you can send the shed skin of a hatchie somewhere and they will tell you the sex of it 100% accuratly. Probing is not always 100% correct.