popping

[deadboy]

im lookin for anyone to give me tips on popping. i have don it before but its about time to do it one the babies and need any advice i can get on the best ways to do it ~~~~ as where is the best place to start to roll the thumb and where is the best place for the thumb on the front side of the vent. any comments help. thanks

[manos]

And maybe some good info on rubbing too?

[Linda]

For the rubbing I just start at the vent and gently go down the tail. I normally feel the bumps, if it's a male, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way down.

I did my second litter right after they were born. It seems to be easier when the tails are on the slimy side. I sexed the second litter 100% correctly.

On my first litter I waited a few days and the babies weren't slimy anymore. :) I got a few of them sexed incorrectly on the first try. On the second try I used a bit of mineral oil to make the tails more slimy/slippery. :) I caught the males I missed on the first try. I ended up with a few more males than I thought I had. Fortunately they were nice enough that their sex didn't matter.

Anyway, it seems to be easier for me to do the rub thing when the tails are "slippery". I chose to use mineral oil, but I'm sure there's other things you can use. Just try to do it before the first shed. That way if you don't get all the oil off it will come off with the shed. :)