Well if you're looking fto have a snake as strictly a snake and don't want to ever breed, the only factor then would be size. Males grow to about 3-3 1/2 feet, while females grow to about 4-5 feet. 5 ft is a VERY large female ball python. I havent seen any of those. But other than size there's no difference. M/f's retain and lose the same amount of colors, temperments are the same, feeding habits are the same.