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Relayer · #1 (**permalink**) 03-22-2002, 09:35 PM

My vet said he does not like to use a prob on snakes to determine sex. He said count the scales on the tail. Around 88 scales is a male and 65 a female. Is this correct? I would like to know what sex rtb I have. Thanks.
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Bry · #2 (**permalink**) 03-22-2002, 09:50 PM

Well I don't know about that, I've never heard of this method. But, good luck getting a snake to hold still while you count all 65-88 scales.

Bry
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hisba · #3 (**permalink**) 03-22-2002, 09:55 PM

heehee Bry, actually the easiest way to do it is to count the scales from the shed.
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I don't know if that is a realiable way to sex RTBs... it may be but I've never heard that
before. Is your boa an adult? If so, look at the vent, are there visable spurs? (little
horns that stick out on either side of the vent..)
Males typically have longer spurs and females usually have very small spurs, sometimes
not even visable. (Also, females have shorter stubbier tails in general than males.. and by
tail I mean length from vent to tip, not red-colored tail blotches) Just FYI
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Relayer · #4 (**permalink**) 03-22-2002, 10:54 PM

My boa is a baby yet. Yea your right about keeping him still while counting scales. I'm not to sure about this vet although he was reccomended as an exotic animal vet. He said Columbians get 10-14' long, I think thats a bit of an exaggeration.
To tell you the truth hisba I don't have another snake to compare its tail to so I'm not sure if its long or short and stubby.
I did give him a bath and he defacated, it was white, is that normal?
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Bry · #5 (**permalink**) 03-23-2002, 12:03 AM

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> My boa is a baby yet. Yea your right about keeping him still while counting scales. I'm not to sure about this vet although he was reccomended as an exotic animal vet. He said Columbians get 10-14' long, I think thats a bit of an exaggeration.
To tell you the truth hisba I don't have another snake to compare its tail to so I'm not sure if its long or short and stubby.
I did give him a bath and he defacated, it was white, is that normal?
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Okay the 10-14' thing is true for BCC (Surinam, Guyana, Peruvian), but I'm assuming you have a BCI (Colombian, Hogs, Central Americans), right? Colombians which are the most common in captivity can get to 8-10'. As for the defectation, that sounds like a urate, reptiles don't have liquid urine like we do. So, they pass solid, white stuff which is their urine.

Bry
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Relayer · #6 (**permalink**) 03-23-2002, 02:08 PM

Thanks Bry, I didn't know about the urate, although he did end up defacating a little while later. Naturally I had just cleaned the cage.
Yes I have a bci, I understand they can reach 8-12' lengths but this guy was talking like 10' would be on the small end, I don't mind either way I wish he would get that big. Is there an average size, I mean are most bci's smaller than lets say 10'?
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lizardlady · #7 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 09:32 AM

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I have never heard of this method for sexing BCI's either. If it was that easy, wouldn't we all be looking at the tails? Adult cornsnakes (even young ones) have a much different tail length depending on sex. I guess we all got some homework to do, lol!
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brandbrit · #8 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 03:51 PM

Hi! Did you take your snake to a regular vet or to a vet that specializes in exotics? If you took your snake to a regular vet I strongly encourage you to find a specialist in your area. I've never heard of a vet that doesn't like to probe snakes. I work p/t at a vet hospital and we always refer clients who have exotics to a nearby exotics animal hospital since that is their speciality....
[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] brandbrit
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BoaBabe · #9 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 04:04 PM

The average size BCI I deal with are about 7 foot. But as far as knowing how old they are and how well they were cared for before they came to me, I don't know that. Correct temps and feeding regimin promote growth, while wrong temps and feeding can stunt growth. Oldest BCI I have here (that I actually know the age of) is 8 years old and 7 foot long. He was also only fed 1 jumbo rat every 3-4 weeks and had a 55 gal tank as a home with a UTH as his only heat source that was waaaay too hot, and the cool side where he stayed mostly stayed too cold.
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