Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.

Click for 65% off Shipping with Reptiles 2 You
Click for ZooMed
Click here to visit Classifieds

ChrisH (or others who'd know)...question on House Snake size/gender....

Nicodemus Oct 14, 2005 08:53 PM

I've had my AHS for a little over 2 years.
I check out your site all the time, but I really can't tell what kind of tail shape she (or he) has compared to your drawings.

When I bought her, she was about a month old (if not younger). The dealer popped her...no hemi's...but I also understand that popping might not be accurate, especially if the snake is above a certain age. And based on her length and mass my guess is she really IS a she, but I just wanted your opinion.

She's got a mass of 257 grams and 91 cm long (~3 feet). You're site says males rarely get over 2 feet. How big can they get? Is 3 feet way too big for a male?
Also, you haven't commented on mass, but your graph showing your 500 g female also shows a male which never gets above 100g. So is it safe to assume 257 g is far too big for a male?

Her length has been pretty constant for quite some time now (which is why I was curious about male max length). Her mass is still increasing and doesn't seem to be stopping...fluctuates somewhat, but definitely not stopping. So my guess that will keep going up.

Any thoughts?
All responses are appreciated.

Replies (4)

chrish Oct 15, 2005 07:33 AM

I have never seen a male get to 3 feet or much over 100 grams so I think you can rest assured a 250 gram animal is a female.

Housesnakes are REALLY easy to sex by tail shape. Males have a very long and conspicuous hemipenial bulge once they are about half grown (a three footer would be obvious). When you see one, it is extremely obvious. I don't have pics of one, unfortunately, but there is a drawing on my website that might help you (under the reproduction page).
-----
Chris Harrison
Central Texas

JaysonJ Oct 15, 2005 05:17 PM

Whats your website chris? I want to see it. Does your website tell how to sex corns?

chrish Oct 16, 2005 12:05 PM

>>Whats your website chris? I want to see it. Does your website tell how to sex corns?

My website is about housesnakes, so it doesn't mention corns. However, colubrid snakes are pretty much all the same - here is the picture I was referring to -

Kathy Love's Cornu-utopia website talks specifically about sexing corns.
-----
Chris Harrison
Central Texas

Nicodemus Oct 16, 2005 01:33 PM

Yeah, I've seen the pic of the tails. Shrug...I don't know, she has a pretty sizeable tail, thus I'd imagine a males tail would be huge. Thats why I was confused.
I suppose if I do see a male, I'll see the difference.

Other than that, I'll take your word thats it is in fact a female based on length and mass.

Now I just need to think if I should get a male next weekend...I've been thinking about it, but judging by the success you've had by waiting longer, I'll probably wait.

Again, thanks for the reply. Much appreciated.

Site Tools