Can you tell male/female by shape of tail? Help!!

[snakelovingrannie]

I have two BP's each kept in their own enclosures. Jackson is 8 months old and Jefferson is 6 months old. Jackson is quite a bit bigger than Jefferson. 50 grams difference in weight. I noticed tonight that their tails look like they are shaped differently. When I bought them I was told that they were both males. Jacksons (8 months) tail appears to stay fatter towards the end. Jeffersons starts getting thinner sooner. I am going to attempt to send some pictures I took...They aren't the best, but if anyone can tell the difference by the shape of the tail, please let me know. Maybe I am just seeing things and they are the same shape. I would appreciate it if you would let me know what you think. I don't care if they are males or females, they are just my pets, but it would be nice to know. If I need to I can take them to the reptile store where I bought them from when the weather gets warmer. Thanks a bunch. connie
Link directly to this folder:
http://beta.propichosting.com/Album....lder=450010321

1st picture to the left Jackson is on the left..jefferson on the right
2nd picture Jefferson on the left and Jackson on the right
3rd picture Jefferson
4th and 5th pictures Jackson
Thanks again. connie

[daniel1983]

Ball pythons are not sexually dimorphic....males and female look identical externally. The only way to know the sex of your ball pythons is to have them probed or popped by a qualified person.

[snakelovingrannie]

Daniel, Thank you for your reply..I don't know why I was thinking that the tail itself was shaped a little differently in the males vs females. I'll probably just wait till this summer and take them in to get checked, but it doesn't really matter what they are to me...They are both super sweet ...I was just curious. Thanks again...

[daniel1983]

Some species of snake you can tell by just looking at them. Difference in tail size, overall adult size, and spur size are traits that can be used to 'guess' the sex of a ball python but none of them are a reliable way to identify the sex. Like I said before, the only sure way is to have someone pop or probe them to find out...and make sure the person doing it is experienced, an unexperienced person can injure a ball python unknowingly.

Glad to help

[cassandra]

Nice tails! Any chance to see the rest of them? =)

[snakelovingrannie]

Here ya ago Cassandra,


A few pictures of my boys.... :-)


Link directly to this folder:
http://beta.propichosting.com/Album....lder=450010347

[cassandra]

Aww! That first picture is so cute! Nice looking kids. =)

[4theSNAKElady]

They both look like beauties....but wouldn't it be cool if you had a pair??? There is NOTHING in the world like watching baby BP's hatch....