Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I'm curious about the various sizes male and female snakes reach comparatively. I know that with boas and pythons the female is notably larger, occasionally by a few feet, but how about in other species? Garters, bull snakes, rat snakes, king snakes and miscellaneous types. How much of a difference is there? Thanks.
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Hi, I'm curious about the various sizes male and female snakes reach comparatively. I know that with boas and pythons the female is notably larger, occasionally by a few feet, but how about in other species? Garters, bull snakes, rat snakes, king snakes and miscellaneous types. How much of a difference is there? Thanks.

In some species (some vipers, some sandboas, rubberboas, African House Snakes), females are significantly larger than males (2-3 times larger in some cases).

In kingsnakes, ratsnakes, bullsnakes, etc. adult males are usually larger than females of the same age.

In gartersnakes and watersnakes, the females are larger.
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Chris Harrison

Here's one that's just based on my observations, concerning the genus Drymarchon. (all taxonomy that follows is sp.nov. for Drymarchon per W.Wuster reclassification of the genus)

In D. couperi, D.melanurus rubidus, and D.m. erebennus the adult males seem to be at least somewhat larger and more robust than the females. In D.m. melanurus and D.m.unicolor there doesn't seem to be as much of a marked difference between the males and females, the males may be slightly larger. In D.corais the females seem markedly larger than the males, at least most of the really large specimens (9 feet or better) seem to be females.
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tropidoleamus wagleri is the most extreme example of dimorphism I have seen. I had a pair breed where the female was something like 15 or 20 times heavier than the male. I wish I had the exact number but, unfortunately, I lost all my records in a flood.

The Wagler's page on kingsnake suggests males are about 1/25 the weight of females. I believe mine were just a bit closer.
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1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)