Reptile & Amphibian Forums

For my birthday a couple weeks ago my husband bought me a pair of Ribbon Snakes...and a book. I've read the book and set up their new home which they seem to enjoy but I've got some general questions. First off, how can I tell how old my snakes are? They are about 20-22 inches. Second, can I determine the sex or is this something I'll have to wait on. I love my new pets, I just wish they'd stop pooping on me whenever I pick them up.

Your Ribbon snakes are probably wild caught (wc) and thus age will be hard to determine. They are at least a year or two but may easily be older. As for determining gender your best bet is to surf the internet for diagrams of tail tapers and then make an educated guess. They can be probed but this is best left to an experienced keeper, especially with a squirmy snake like a Ribbon. The "pooping" you are referring to is a defensive mechanism sometimes called "musking." Unfortunately Ribbon snakes (to my understanding) are notorious for retaining this behavior while most snakes stop after a short time in captivity. I have had my Ribbon for quite a while and he still musks. Most of my Garters and all of my adult Garters have ceased musking. To be fair I have about 58 snakes (33 Garters representing 14 varieties including 1 Ribbon) and do not spend a lot of time trying to tame them so you may have better luck. You also may want to research the issue of fish and thiamase. Many types of fish have an enzyme that destroys thiamine thus causing VB deficiency. I feed my Ribbon scented pinkies (frozen and thawed) every 5 days or so and he does well. Good luck with your new pets.

Randy