sexing my boa

[Shaggy135]

Is there anybody in the Kansas City area that can sex my boa for me? I have never done it but I would like to learn. I got "her" about 2 1/2 years ago and was told that it was a she. Now I'm thinking about getting into breeding and just want to make sure. Can somebody help me?

Thanks,

J
[addsig]

[TONYHAWKINS]

if you had the anaimal for 2 1/2 years it should be pretty easy. but the best way is by probeing. your animal should be around 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 foot right.this make it easy. with male boa they have two spurs on each side of the vent opening which look like small k-9 teeth hook shape. if your animal is a male you'll know as soon as you see the spurs. i hope this helps you. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img] Page Title

tony
2nd alarm reptiles [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]
[addsig]

	Spurs A pair of claws on each side of the cloaca which assist in mating. A spur is much more defined on a male

	Cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the intestinal, urinary, and (usually) genital tracts of certain animal species.All birds, reptiles, and amphibians possess this orifice, from which they excrete both urine and feces

[LdyDrgn]

Spurs are also present on females. This is not a reliable method of sexing. Probing is the only definite way to sex a snake. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
[addsig]

[SteveP]

And sometimes the spurs on a male are pretty small, like my Hog Island male. Superficially he looks like a female. My herp Vet does probing...but not all of them do. Still, may be worth looking into if you can't find someone else qualified to probe. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
[addsig]

	Hog Island Boa hogg

[Ti]

Try this for a 'more educated' guess...? If you run your thumb and forefinger down the length of the tail, starting at the vent and moving towards the tip, finger and thumb on the top and bottom, applying gentle (firmer for larger animals) pressure, you should be able to feel two B-B like fleshy bodies in males. These are the hemipenes. Females don't have them and are smooth for the full length.

May take one, or two, or thirty tries to be sure. It has been accurate for all of my animals. Yours may be a little too big, but its worth a shot. This way, when/if you probe, you can have a good idea how the results will end up. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]
[addsig]

	Cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the intestinal, urinary, and (usually) genital tracts of certain animal species.All birds, reptiles, and amphibians possess this orifice, from which they excrete both urine and feces