sexing a corn snake

[ratfink721]

ive have a lot of bps. ive got a new addition to my snake family, its a corn snake. he/she is about 2 foot long. i have no clue on how to sex a corn snake. ive heard its totally different with corns than bps. i dont want to harm it so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Pyrate81]

With a lot of colubrids you can tell sex by looking at the tail. If it is long and thin it'll be male. If it's short and semi thick, then it's female. This is not 100% accurate. Not sure if probing is the same, but pretty sure popping is. Someone with better/more experience will have better advice.

[bigt0006]

You can pop a corn snake just like you pop a bp. Only difference is a corn is more fragile so you have to be more careful

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[kc261]

I've also heard that popping a corn once it is too big can harm it. I think it has something to do with the males getting damaged hemipenes. Probing is supposed to be safer for bigger corns.

[Spiritserpents]

The way I sex adults is thus:

Looking at the tail from underneath, I mark the location of the vent and then travel halfway up the length of the tail. If the width at that point is the same, or nearly the same, as at the vent, it's most likely male. If it is about half the width of the vent, it is most likely female.

[NH93]

With a lot of colubrids you can tell sex by looking at the tail. If it is long and thin it'll be male. If it's short and semi thick, then it's female. This is not 100% accurate. Not sure if probing is the same, but pretty sure popping is. Someone with better/more experience will have better advice.

Isn't it sort of the other way around?
Males have thicker tails (but longer, as you said) to store their hemipenes, whereas females taper off quickly... I believe.

[Blue Apple Herps]

Counting scales, looking at tail shape, etc is not accurate at all. While most might fit a certain rule, there are exceptions to the rule, which IMO makes it worthless.

And at 2 feet, I wouldn't try to pop a corn, they're not like bps that you can pop as adults. Once a corn is anything but a hatchling, I don't pop. I probe.

Probing a corn is just like probing a bp, fairly easy and straight forward. Best to get someone experienced to show you how to do it though.

[Pyrate81]

With a lot of colubrids you can tell sex by looking at the tail. If it is long and thin it'll be male. If it's short and semi thick, then it's female. This is not 100% accurate. Not sure if probing is the same, but pretty sure popping is. Someone with better/more experience will have better advice.

Isn't it sort of the other way around?
Males have thicker tails (but longer, as you said) to store their hemipenes, whereas females taper off quickly... I believe.

I have 2 male rat snakes with tails which I described and have seen it in other peoples' male colubrids. I have seen a male bull snake with a shorter tail that pinches in passed the vent then bulges back out like an hourglass. So it can go either way depending on the snake. It's not 100% accurate like I said so my description is what I use as a guess with some snakes but not all. I should've been more elaborate.


"Someone with better/more experience will have better advice."

vv

Counting scales, looking at tail shape, etc is not accurate at all. While most might fit a certain rule, there are exceptions to the rule, which IMO makes it worthless.

And at 2 feet, I wouldn't try to pop a corn, they're not like bps that you can pop as adults. Once a corn is anything but a hatchling, I don't pop. I probe.

Probing a corn is just like probing a bp, fairly easy and straight forward. Best to get someone experienced to show you how to do it though.