If you are a reptile freak, or thinking of breeding such magnificent creatures, it will be significant to understand the ways of identifying the sex of a ball python. From the outside features like their size and shape of their tails there are ways how to find out gender of these slithery friends such as through cloacal popping and probing. So if you want to know more about pythons, prepare yourself in solving the mystery of these ball pythons friends.
It is vital, for example, in matters concerning feeding and mating these fascinating snakes, to know the sex of your ball python. In this case the sex of male and female ball pythons determines the size that they grow to, the food they eat and even the diseases that affect them. If you know their gender, their living environment, feeding regime and the way they are dealt with will be determined to give them the best life possible. In addition, if the decision to breed the animals has been made, it is very important to make the correct determination of the sex in order to correctly mate and get offspring.
External Characteristics
Talking about the sizes, there are significant differences between males and females of the ball pythons. Most often, the female ball python is larger and heavier in comparison with the male one. Adult females of this species measure 3 to 5 feet in length, while males measures about 2 to 3 feet on average. It concerns body weight; the females can always be from 3 to 5 pounds heavier than males that are usually from 1 pound. 5 to 3 pounds.
One way of establishing the ball python’s sex is by looking at the samples of the tail. It is an established fact that male ball pythons are statutorily endowed with longer and thicker tails as compared to the females. It is also significant to note that their tails are tapered evenly and smoothly till a sharp end. The vent-less me staple on the other hand shall be on the body of the female ball pythons, and their tail shall be shorter and thinner than that of the males, it may even appear like a cylinder. The reduction of the tail in females is not as extreme, meaning that the females may have a blunt or rounded-end to their tail.
It is now time to discuss the variation as far as the size of the base of the tail is concerned in ball pythons of different gender. speaking of the tail, male ball pythons have a little wider and more massive base in contrast to the female ones. This is so because male animals have a hemipenis that is, an organ used in reproduction situated at the base of its tail. These hemipenes add some measure of physical boundary to the tails; in males they make the base of the tail look more formidable in girth. At the same time, the female ball pythons are characterized by the relatively thinner tail base as they do not have hemipenes.
Cloacal Popping
Administrating cloacal popping is a complex procedure that should be administered by professional people particularly reptile enthusiast or vet. They can look after the snake and in turn avoid any harm to the snake as well as other harm that might come the way of the snake. In case you are a producer and you have a ball python and you are interested in ascertaining the sex of the reptile, I strongly advise that you to get the assistance of a person or even veterinarian with competence in the identification to do so safely.
One has to say that handling and proper care of the ball pythons should be done with great care and respect. So, when it is a question of identification of the gender as well as the execution any manipulations such as cloacal popping, it is necessary to pay attention to the further fate of the snake. These procedures have to be made by experienced people such as the specialist in reptiles and the veterinarian which knows how to make it. They can also make sure that the snake is treated kindly so that it can cause the subject any discomfort or harm at all.
Probing
Another method of sexually matting ball pythons is through probing where the width of the cloaca will tell one whether the pythons is male or female. This is a technique of probing gentle with a thin non sharp instrument through the cloaca to find out whether the hemipenes are present and the extent of their insertion. It is voluntarily inserted and moved along the tail and according to to how deep it goes an individual is described as male or female. However, it is good to understand there are parts which can only be probed by a specialist in reptiles or a veterinarian in this case simply because it takes precision to avoid inflicting injury to the snake.
Probing is a special kind of process and thus, it should be performed by some certified people such as the reptile specialists or vets. They have all that is required to do it properly – tools, skills and knowledge. Feeling requires a thin, probed stick made from stainless material to feel for hemipenes in the cloaca of the snake. The diameter of the probe applied therefore depends with the size and age of the snake in question. This is something I do not feel very comfortable with – sliding a probe into the animal and trying to find the hemipenes along the tail.
However, in the context of probing it is necessary to be very careful and always remember about the safety of your Ball Python. This procedure has to be done carefully and this is the reason why this operation demands some experience and expertise in operating with electrical stimulations. It is therefore advised to consult reptile experts or vet who has the right skills and utensils to perform this correctly. It will help you guarantee that the probing will not hurt the scaly buddy and that he or she will not have any sort of discomfort.
Behavioral Differences
As behavior alone cannot point to a specific gender to a ball python, there are a few observations to make known the gender thus; Males also move more and are likely to explore more than the females of this species of pythons. They may also perform cartwheeling, sometimes called shimmering and this is a form of movement used by these birds when they are performing courtship displays. On the other hand, female may act aggressively perhaps during their reproductive period in order to protect their young ones, or eggs.
Though there are simple behavioral variations that are distinguishable in ball pythons which reflects or may describe their gender, such perceptions should be taken with some degree of precaution as they are not very accurate. Any of these behaviors as a sudden boost in activity rate in males or defensive posturing in females can be helpful but these are not very reliable signs of gender. One should not forget that it is possible to have different behavior in each snake.
Conclusion
It is, however, crucial to note that these behaviours when expressed by a ball python can give a few hints about the python’s gender, but then again, but they are not entirely conclusive. Males may be active and court and females may become aggressive and protect their territories at other times. These behaviors, therefore, may differ between different persons and also may not be consistent due to a number of factors. The reason for such errors is stated to be due insufficient knowledge of reptile gender by general road transport, and more precise methods of determination of gender are based on probing or popping, which can only be done by reptile specialists or vets.
