After reading for a bit, I think I can safely assume my snake is female, judging by the tail. Sites usually say it's hard to tell without experience, but either it's very apparent in my eyes or my snake is very female :roll: The tail forms like this: <°===:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::======----- With a very distinct reduction in size towards the end. If anyone think I'm totally off the bat, let me know Luckily the name I chose is a unisex name (PS: ASCII art rocks!)
The "tail" length is usually determined by how far the tail extends past the cloaca. It's usually shorter in a female than a male.
I was looking at CornUtopia.com when I reached this conclusion. This is where I got my info: http://www.cornutopia.com/Corn%20Utopia%20...-%20CAPTION.jpg
What I mean is, from your picture you can't tell where the cloaca is. You can't just go by shape and length, you have to go by the position of the cloaca compared to the end of the tail. Also, how old is your snake. Sometimes it's hard to determine sex in young, immature snakes.
CornUtopia is saying that the widths of the tails differ. My snake is very young, was born this summer. I was just checking out the tail as I held it, and it was just VERY noticable that is tapers. I haven't heard of the method of sexing by length of the tails, could you explain it?
You can't really sex by tail lengths. In some snakes, like I said, in some snakes the female's tail will be shorter that's all. It's the same idea as it tapering. It tapers out more quickly. It's the distance it extends from the cloaca that I'm considering length. But it isn't always obvious. To really know for sure, the snake needs to be probed by someone with experience. Snakes are rarely sexually dimorphic, meaning you can't really tell the difference between males and females externally. We're essentially talking about the same thing, it's just that it's hard to tell how long or tapered the tail of your snake is by your picture. And it's especially hard to trust visual clues in a snaek so young.
Ok. Forget about my crappy little pic, it shows nothing. My snakes butt looks more like the females in the pic at CornUtopia than the bulging ones of the males. I am not trying to measure the length of the tail in any sense. My snake is too young to be probed by anyone local to me, so I went on a venture to find out other things. I know it's not 100% accurate, and that is why I posted on this forum - I like to have more than 1 source backing up my assumptions. I was just surprised at a VERY VERY distinct taper at the end of its tail. That's all. I thought it was a sign of its gender, and you say it's not. So should I be worried?
No no...that's not what I mean. I sincerely doubt there's anything wrong. I just meant you can't go by tail shape or length alone. We have two Great Plains Rats that are closely related to corns (most people say they are the same essentially and lump them into the corn category) and they've been sexed and appear to be female. But their tails aren't as tapered as many known females. It could be that their hemipenes didn't "pop" because they were young and they are really males or their tails are just not the norm. That's what I mean. It could be that your little one is a female, Sorry for all the confusion! LOL!
With corns, you can SOMETIMES judge by tail length/tapering, but it's very difficult to say without comparing it with known sexes. And even then, it's near-impossible to tell unless the snake is at least 3ft or more.. With babies, if they're small enough, it's best to go with popping or probing to get an accurate judge of sex - DO NOT ATTEMPT EITHER POPPING OR PROBING YOURSELF IF YOU'VE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE!!! Ask somebody who is experienced in these methods to show you exactly how it's done, and when you try it for the first time, do it under their supervision so you can ask questions. That warning wasn't just directed at you Venzor, I know you're smarter than to try that, but just for those who may be searching here in the future
Good point Axe! It scares me to see those "hot to" guides in books and on sites about popping and probing. That is soooooo dangerous to do on your own without experience.
Now, this is just me being a smart-arse, but how do you get experience doing so, if you shouldn't do it inexperienced? Hehe (This isn't a serious question)
LOL! For those who may be serious about that question...you learn form someone experienced in doing it! LOL!
Yup, speaking to breeders at shows, or if there are any local experienced herpers in your area who know how to do it, or even your vet. Many vets who deal regularly with reptiles and know what they're doing will be able to help you.
