Need second instructions on popping baby corns

[Cirith Ungol]

I tried pop-sexing my babies and after 15 of 18 I stopped. I had not gotten a single pop and 3 of the babies where so riled up they'd tag me so much that I thought I'd rather put them back before they get a heart attack.

So... I've seen the sexing corns collage where males and females tails are compared and where also a baby pop is shown. It was helpful in telling me what I was supposed to achieve, but now I'm starting to doubt my abilities.

At times when I "squeezed" I helped them poo, so I know I was looking in the right area and I also tried to vary the area on the same corn just to make sure I hadn't missed it. I squeezed this and that way, I bent them and squeezed but still no pops other than poop pops. I have to say though, I tried to be gentle- or only as firm as much as I dared, but still nothing, as already said.

Or could it be that I have an all female clutch?? Is the sex dependant on incubation temperature, like with crocodiles?

If anyone has more precise instructions, from having done this him/herself and possibly even pictures, I'd appreciate it greatly!

Also, a last question, I'd like to sex my 1 year old 2½ft corn too, would that be too large for popping? I know if it got pissed I'd feel it a little more than with those little worms I have here .

Thanks!
C

 

[Midnightrdr456]

Ive heard from many people not to attempt popping unless you know someone that can do it very well and they can show you in person. Otherwise it is tough and dangerous for the snake.

 

[TheDarkFinder]

The breeder where I got my corns from popped them to make sure I got 1 male and 1 female, freaked me out. Man that is not right.
thedarkfinder

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Sounds like this was the last time I attempted it...

 

[Galadriel]

Not a method I recommend. I've seen too many broken spines from it being done wrong. You'd be better off ordering a set of ball tip probes or taking them to a good herp vet to be sexed.

 

[mindlessvw]

I would highly suggest first learning from a very experienced person how to probe then go with that...that popping has got to be painful

 

[joey]

Dont know if it will help, but, my sister has successfully probed her batches of baby corns, very fine tipped probes.

The differences were quite obvious, even at a very young age. We recently probed a couple of 8 month old rainbows,and they were trickier than the smaller corns.

This method definately causes less stress to the babies.
Visually sexing by tail length is not guaranteed but at least with corns it is more apparent than with some other baby snakes.
Not sure what the numbers are with corns but subcaudal scale count may help if you decide not to probe.
Other wise, have you thought of the wedding ring test. This we have found to be 99.9% acurate. Hang a wedding ring on a length of cotton, and hold steady over the snake, if it starts to swing in a pendulum... male, if it starts to swing in circles.... female.
Dont knock it till you've tried it. OK , so its not scientific, but what can i say...

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I'll stick with tail length for now, all the rest I leave to the experts (even the pendulum stuff)

 

[Barbedwirecat]

Probing a snake is easy as long as you know how to and what to look for (and have lots of LUBE) And to answer you previous question about male/vs female ratio w/ temputatures YES. ABSOFREAKINLOUTLY. This can happen with birds too!! Thats another reason we think birds and reptiles are related somewhere down the road. (sorry if no one beleives in evolution but hey....*shug*)

Depending on the temperature of the incubator, you can have a clutch of all female or all male, sometimes both. I'm planing on doing few experiments on button quail and incubation temps with birds, cause i really want to know more about it

 

[xgrafcorex]

Depending on the temperature of the incubator, you can have a clutch of all female or all male, sometimes both. I'm planing on doing few experiments on button quail and incubation temps with birds, cause i really want to know more about it

temp is said to be a determining sexual factor in leopard geckos...never heard it applied to snakes but i am still new to reptiles.

 

[Barbedwirecat]

Yep, it goes for almost all reptiles far as I know. Feel free to corect me if i'm wrong tho

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Probing a snake is easy as long as you know how to and what to look for (and have lots of LUBE) And to answer you previous question about male/vs female ratio w/ temputatures YES. ABSOFREAKINLOUTLY. This can happen with birds too!! Thats another reason we think birds and reptiles are related somewhere down the road. (sorry if no one beleives in evolution but hey....*shug*)

Depending on the temperature of the incubator, you can have a clutch of all female or all male, sometimes both. I'm planing on doing few experiments on button quail and incubation temps with birds, cause i really want to know more about it

I'm not from your country, please don't give me anything else than evolution!

I've had the incubator temps in the high range, topping at 30, lowest at 27 celcius. Do you know what sex comes out of that?

 

[Barbedwirecat]

You know what I did do more reserch into the cornsnake thing and no one has really done enough research on it to figure it out, or they say its not true. So I have no idea really. LOL sorry for the confusion.

I would tend to think this is true, but thats comming from someone who has never bred snakes.

This is about alligators. I swear someone told me this was true for snakes when I went to a class taught a reptile show about breeding.
Generally speaking, eggs that incubate at low temperatures (22-27 degrees
Centigrade) will produce one sex and eggs that incubate at high
temperatures (30 degrees Centrigrade and above) will develop into the
opposite sex. This leaves a tiny window of temperatures that will result
in both sexes in the same brood of eggs (Gilbert, 1997).

But this is not always true (which is why we don't know if its true or not)

I guess I should not always beleive what I'm told until I prove it right.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Hehe... so I'm no closer to knowing... well, thanks anyway!

 

[Beardo]

Popping snakes when you don't know how is very dangerous....probing is much safer as long as you have probes small enough to do the job (and know how of course).

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Popping snakes when you don't know how is very dangerous....probing is much safer as long as you have probes small enough to do the job (and know how of course).

I can only say that the collage that I mentioned earlier is very misleading. It makes popping sound as easy and safe as counting to 3.

 

[Galadriel]

Temp determining sex does NOT hold true with snakes, or most lizards for that matter. It only effects them one way...if incubation temps are too hot or too cold, they die.

 

[EvanG]

Temperature dependant sex determination is, in fact, a proven occurance in all crocodilians, because there are no sex chromosomes. Snakes do have sex chromosomes and their sex is determined long before they are incubated. Same goes for most lizards. This does not hold true when we get into chelonians because most also bear no sex chromosomes and are determined male or female by incubation temperature.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Thanks both of you for clearing that up!

 

[Barbedwirecat]

Thank you IR the dumb Herherher......

BTW....counting to 3.....can be VERY dangerous.


Last night I was outside durring a bad thunderstorm. I was always taught to counting how close they are by the strikes and then the thunder.....

1 mississpi, 2 missispi..........CERRCRASH! Lighting struck about 2 ft from me. Left me without hearing for all of the night and a bloody ear...... Thank god my eardrum wasn't ruptured.

Lesson learned: Don't stand outside or in a garage when theres a severe thunderstorm around and count like a Der der der......

Go to the golfcorse.

:-D
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