Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Everyone,I have given everything I have trying to figure out my boys from girls..I have taken my snakes to shows&petstores only to be told opposite sexes on everything.I've watched videos and I'm getting desperate to find out.I'm thinking someone here might be able to help.Any advice??

If the petstores and shows both PROBED the animals, then that is the most reliable method. I would go with the folks at the show if they were good reliable vendors/corn breeders. In general, males tales are much longer and taper much more gradually past the cloacal opening (scale where the poop comes out) to the tip of the tale. Females tails taper much quicker to the tip and not as broad. Also, if male, you can look at the tail from the side. With ADULT male corns, you can sometimes see how the tail bulges to accomodate the hemipenes after the cloacal opening towards the tip of the tail. Long thick tail after poop scale equal male, short stubby tail after poop scale equal female.

Thank you for answering..possible someone could post photo difference..I might have to post a few pics of mine..thanks again

There are several pics posted in the various forums showing males vs. females tails. Its pretty prominent when they are sexually mature adults. I cant tell looking at babies and have to pop my hatchlings or get someone to probe adult snakes I cant tell by looking at visually. I am better at doing this more with corns than say kings or milks.

Can I ask you one last question?Is there a size difference in adults.That being 3ft.vs a 5ft corn.(Only asking due to the petstore men saying my large snow corn would be female so that she can lay eggs)but in my eyes I think it's a male due to behavior going off feed and turning bright yellow.the snakes that I think are female seem smaller than my males.Ugh.see why I'm slightly confused.Thanks

I have read that generally male corns get bigger than females. I think this would be more noticeable if you were to compare mature adult WC corns both from the same area. However, the genetics of CB babies are so variable and there is WC genes from corn populations/localities that are smaller in the wild as genes from pops/localities that are larger in the wild. Some wild populations may max at three to four feet while other populations or localities max at five to six feet. Not really knowing what population/locality genes are in your corns, its hard to say. You could have a huge female with genetics from one of the larger populations, but a male with locality blood from one of the smaller populations. Right now most of my female corns are as large as, or larger than my males. However, my yearling plus male okeetee corn is larger than the female of same age and will probably be larger than her as an adult. The okeetee genes may indicate they will be very large corns in general. I hope this explanation makes sense. The other factor that may influence size/growth in captivity is the fact some feed their females quite a bit more than the males so they have the mass needed for egg production and the strain it puts on their bodies. Bigger heftier females mean bigger clutches.

Thank you for your reply..I understand what you are saying about the genetics playing a part in size.I see differences in head size and shape as well.Well I'm just going to have to take them to a show again and see what I'm told this time.I have 13 snakes and most of them I've been told different sexes on.It's frustrating,,I'm just trying to learn.again thanks

I have always relied on what I purchased the animals as as to their sexes. I have bought a "mistake" or two LOL!! With some practice, you can look at the tail of an adult corn and be pretty close to figuring out the sex, especially males. Its pretty obvious in most males how much bigger and thicker their tails are compared to a known female. My suggestion, have them all probed by a reliable and competent person. Even if it means paying a few bucks for them to do it. Then you can compare tails of known males and females to learn the differences.