Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my first hognoses yesterday and today and have a quick question. I see that they are sex-able as neonates based on tail length. Can this also be done with adults? I would appreciate is if some of you would post pictures of the undersides of tails of adults. Thanks in advance.
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Davey Giltner

It's easier to sex adults then it is to sex hatchlings (which is as a rule REALLY easy). Females are almost always much larger then males. Males lave a slimmer build and a very long tail, while a female's tail tapers very quickly. I don't have any tail pics at the moment but I will get some within the next two days if nobody else posts some.

I have one that is about 28 inches long, and has a 3 1/2 inch tail, and one that is about 15 inches with a 3 inch tail. The big one is about as big around as a golf ball, maybe a little thinner, and the small one is about 1/2 inch in diameter. Now, obviously , the first response would be that the big one is a female. The reason I am asking for pictures is that the base of the tail on "her" is swollen, leaving me wondering if she is in fact a male. She tapers in slightly at the vent, and and bulges back out after the vent for about 1/2 the length of her tail. Thes pictures kind of show what I am talking about.

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Davey Giltner

Yours are both female. The swollen area is her scent glands. It's a totally different look than the swollen area of a males tail. See my picture in my other post and you will understand what I mean.

Thanks for the reply.Both of the pictures I posted were of the same snake. Thanks for letting me know she is in fact a female. I saw your post with the tail comparisons before I even got the snakes and assumed they were younger ones when I got mine and it had such an odd shaped tail. That is why I was asking for adult tail pics. I didn't know about scent glads, and very much appreciate your input on that.
here are a couple of pics of my little male.


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Davey Giltner

I just posted tail shots like 10 threads down on this page. Here is the link
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1820613,1820702