Generalized Snake Behavior By Sex

[YungRasputin]

so, i realize this could just be me but feel it is an interesting question which idk how to phrase exactly but i have noticed that out of all species in my collection it’s always the males who are more friendly, docile, immediately tame, etc comparative to my females and i was just wondering has anyone else had similar experiences or is this like “a thing” or what?

[bcr229]

I hadn't noticed based on sex. I have docile and/or friendly males and females, I have shy males and females, and I have one rescue male who acts like a micro-retic.

[Bogertophis]

I agree with bcr229's post above. I would not characterize snakes as showing more or less docility based on sex at all- as far as I can tell, they have individual personalities. I've had & still have very docile snakes of either sex. Perhaps your (OP) expectations exert a subtle influence in how you handle them? Just something to consider.

[Gio]

so, i realize this could just be me but feel it is an interesting question which idk how to phrase exactly but i have noticed that out of all species in my collection it’s always the males who are more friendly, docile, immediately tame, etc comparative to my females and i was just wondering has anyone else had similar experiences or is this like “a thing” or what?

This is a nice topic and I find it rather interesting.

We'd have to collect an enormous amount of data to reach even a general conclusion.

At face value, if I were to answer your question, I would say I have almost the opposite experience here with males. My Male retic was awful, my male Bredli is decent but nowhere as chilled out as the late coastal female carpet I had. The new female is young, so she'll get a pass however she may break the "nice streak" the females have had here. The female royal is very easy and docile and was from day 1.

My male boa is great which brings up the "individualized" behavior subject. Nothing is clear cut.

Other differences I've noticed here and have read about, at least with the species I keep are as follows for the males.

The males here are more arboreal. I can't call that a definite conclusion because I have had/have males of different species.

Nick Mutton's field work does point to male carpets of many families being more arboreal. It seems they travel greater distances and in the species that combat, they are the larger sex.

I've also read that boa constrictor males travel greater distances and have been spotted climbing more than females.

At my place, the males have always been more active, and been more arboreal.

The male retic and male Bredli were/are the most arboreal animals I've had. The Bredli just edges out what the retic did.

The male boa is in his perches a lot as well but not as much as the previously mentioned snakes.

Most, other than the noted field observations, of this is just my captive experience.

It is an interesting topic even if it is generalized.

[Bogertophis]

One thing that adds confusion with snakes is that the female snakes are generally going to instinctively want to eat more for breeding readiness, or to replenish after reproducing eggs or young, and that appetite can sure mimic aggression at times, especially to anyone with less experience. When you fill them up, they're plenty docile, but in general, some females (even when they've never bred) can seem very feisty for that reason.

Case in point: My 2.2. adult "Florida" (yellow blend) rat snakes. They're all about 15 years old now and never bred, but every year my 2 gals churn out double clutches of unfertilized eggs- as many as 30+ in the first clutch, & a lesser # in the second. You wouldn't BELIEVE how much these girls eat, before they lay eggs & especially after. But I never get bit- because I know how to communicate that it's "me", not food...but if you only judged by their actions, you might think !!! Incidentally, rat snakes are truly so much fun!

[YungRasputin]

I agree with bcr229's post above. I would not characterize snakes as showing more or less docility based on sex at all- as far as I can tell, they have individual personalities. I've had & still have very docile snakes of either sex. Perhaps your (OP) expectations exert a subtle influence in how you handle them? Just something to consider.

to clarify a little bit i am of course not saying that female snakes are “mean” or that they’re otherwise incapable of being sweet - my female red tail has been sweet since day 1 for example - and more than that, i wouldn’t say my OP should lead one to think that individual specific behavior or personalities are somehow negated

i do/did/idk have an initial bias i must say insomuch as i assumed that it would be the opposite that my males would be more sassy and the females would be more chill as the females are larger and also within a lot of animal species, even reptiles and snakes in particular, males often compete for females in the wild - i’ve seen rattlesnake males compete for a female by trying to see who is the longest and i’ve heard (at least with pythons idk about boas) large constrictor species males fighting by like slash/grating their teeth against the other male or something? idk would have to refind the vid i heard that in or article i read that in but still

as far as approach - i don’t really have a technique or anything yet - mainly i just “tap” them with hooks so they know it’s play time and then scoop up with a “confident grab” but that’s it - other than that i just have been trying to go with the flow and learn how to read their body language better

[YungRasputin]

One thing that adds confusion with snakes is that the female snakes are generally going to instinctively want to eat more for breeding readiness, or to replenish after reproducing eggs or young, and that appetite can sure mimic aggression at times, especially to anyone with less experience. When you fill them up, they're plenty docile, but in general, some females (even when they've never bred) can seem very feisty for that reason.

Case in point: My 2.2. adult "Florida" (yellow blend) rat snakes. They're all about 15 years old now and never bred, but every year my 2 gals churn out double clutches of unfertilized eggs- as many as 30+ in the first clutch, & a lesser # in the second. You wouldn't BELIEVE how much these girls eat, before they lay eggs & especially after. But I never get bit- because I know how to communicate that it's "me", not food...but if you only judged by their actions, you might think !!! Incidentally, rat snakes are truly so much fun!

well first i would say 95% of my experience with snakes are all pythons because outside of my red tail pair (which both have been supremely chill “right out of the bag” which i assume is typical of the species) that’s all i have so maybe that might be something particular to them i thought and also, all of mine are babies or juveniles so i know my initial perceptions will probably change overtime once they mature and once i work with them more and all of that but! i didn’t know/hadn’t thought of what you said about the breeding stuff - v good point

of my female pythons my ball python is the most tame and always has been so i thought maybe it was “just her” and she was just like that because she’s herself cuz my female burms are super sassy and my female coastal is a demon rn lmao (which granted she’s like the size of a pencil rn but still)

[YungRasputin]

this is a good example of what i was saying - this is what was making me think the males would be more spicy

[YungRasputin]

also to explain my reasoning a little more - i was thinking like with female burms in particular they’re like the biggest snakes in the jungles of Asia, 1 of if not the biggest predators specifically so what would they have to fear? you know

[Bogertophis]

well first i would say 95% of my experience with snakes are all pythons because outside of my red tail pair (which both have been supremely chill “right out of the bag” which i assume is typical of the species) that’s all i have and also, all of mine are babies or juveniles so i know my initial perceptions will probably change overtime once they mature and once i work with them more and all of that but! i didn’t know/hadn’t thought of what you said about the breeding stuff - v good point

Snakes are so diverse, it's hard to generalize, but it might be fair to say that I expect females to be more "food-focused"* & males to be more "mate-focused"**, so that might also have an impact on their attitude when we approach. But when snakes "know" (remember) us & feel safe, I think snakes of either sex can be equally calm & cuddly when given the right signals & handled.

*I've kept & bred rosy boas for years, & the males go off food sooner than the females do, & if temperatures aren't lowered for brumation, many females will eat all winter (or maybe less than usual, but they still eat) whereas males refuse early & for the duration of winter no matter what. (Like many snakes, rosy boas have better fertility with some winter cool-down.) As you might expect, rosy boas are one of the species where the female are typically larger than the males. But it's hard to generalize- with my Florida rat snakes, the males are much bigger (7') than the females (not over 6'), because these silly females waste so much food producing all these eggs.

**For example, when snakes come out of brumation, it's fairly common that males (of many species) won't eat for a while because they're more interested in finding a mate than they are in eating.
So in many cases, they not only get a late start on food, but they're usually the first to refuse food in the fall/winter, for those that brumate, anyway.

For many years I had a large female BCI- she had a ferocious appetite, but was entirely trustworthy* with me for handling & extended cuddle time. (*Not even one bite, ever.)