How do you tell a boy snake from a girl snake?

Question

Ihave 4 ball pythons and i want to figure out which ones are boys and which ones are girls

Answer 1

I have had snakes and I did a project on them. If I remember correctly you look at how the tail tapers after the "hips". A females tail taper more and is also shorter, but even them it can be tricky to tell.

Answer 2

Forget probing.
Forget the Hempenes.
Both ways work, but are not easy.

With ball pythons, especially when you have multiple numbers of them, the easiest way is to compare.
Look at the tails. The females tail (from the booty hole to the tip) is MUCH shorter than the males tail. The females will be about 7-10 scales long from the butt to the tip & the males will be about 12-15 scales long.

Otherwise you can try the hempenes--or the spurs(as real reptile owners call them). They are small needle like claws on the under belly of the snake--about 2/3 - 3/4 the way back down the snake(closer to the butt than the head). The spurs are used in mating. UNLIKE WHAT MOST uneducated people think-BOTH MALE AND FEMALE ball pythons have them. The male uses them to grab that female snake booty. The male Ball python will have longer spurs than the females. On a 3-foot ball python, the femlaes spurs are about 5 milimeters-real small-like the lead of a sharpened pencil. The males spurs will be triple that size-about the size of human child's baby tooth.

That is the facts.

Answer 3

There are two ways to find out for sure if a snake is male or female.
The males have a pair of HEMIPENES hidden underneath scales on their
bellies. With young snakes, an expert snake handler can gently put
pressure on the right spot and pop the hemipenes out through the cloaca.
Only the male snakes have hemipenes, the females do not.

Another way is called PROBING. A steel probe, like a large dull needle,
can be inserted in the cloaca and pushed under the tail of the snake.
The distance the probe goes in tells you if the snake is male or female.
The probe goes further in male snakes.

Answer 4

well you can sometimes tell based on the leinght of the tail. females have longer tails. now before you go saying " the whole body is the tail" let me explain. find the butt of your snake from that point down to the tip is the tail. but the only way to tell for sure aside from the laying of the eggs (which by the way is not safe for an unexperianced snake keeper unless you want a dead snake) you need to get it probed. that is the only for sure way to tell no matter what anyone says.

Answer 5

Probing or popping are most accurate, but shold noty be attempted unless you know what you are doing. Anal spurs can be used, but can be worn down in older males, making them look like females. Some males just have smaller anal spurs, and some females can have large ones. Another method to use is to compare the length ang diameter of your snakes' tails, but this isn't 100%. Females will have shorter, but more slender tail than males. Use this website to see photos:

http://www.reptilerascals.com/snakesbpsgender.htm

If you use the anal spurs and tail shape/length together, you'll likely be 75-80% correct.

When you have your snakes to a vet (which you should do after purchasing and periodically therafter to check for parasites), you can ask him/her to probe them for you

Answer 6

put copies of playboy and playgirl at opposite ends of the cage and see which curl up where.

ok.. serious answer here.

Snakes can be sexed by a pro at the store that deals with reptiles. It is not a fun procedure for the snake as the male sex organ is retracted and needs to be probed for. Females do not have the same organs (duh!) but an inexperienced handler may get too carried away looking for something that doesn't exist and therefor hurt the snake.

Don't do this at home.. you may inadvertently remove something that the snake would prefer to use later.

ok?

(Actually I thought the playboy part was at least worth a chuckle)

.

Answer 7

the only genuine way of telling is to have the snake probed by an authority. This is composed of intently putting a steel rod in to the snake's vent and by feeling how a techniques the probe might properly be inserted actual, then the intercourse might properly be desperate. I might desire to emphasize that this might desire to easily be performed by somebody experienced in this technique, as severe harm can come to the snake if dealt with badly.

Answer 8

Counting scales can be inaccurate.

Take your snakes to a vet that specialises in reptiles.

Answer 9

I agree w/ the above answer. In most snakes, female's tail are more stubbier and tapered, while males are pointier and...not so tapered! It's good that you have more than one so you can compare!

Answer 10

one has baby snakes and the other doesn't.wait till one has a baby or take them to the zoo or the vets so they'll tell u.