sexing

[kidchameleon]

ive heard that you can sex corns by the way their tail is shaped. i think it is that if it gets skinny fast, its a female, but if it gradually gets smaller, its a male. is that right? also, how accurate is this method?

[ChristinaM]

In the cornsnake manual, there's a pic of that method. It shows m/f tails. The males tails are generally longer from vent to tip, to allow for room for the hemipenes.

I believe if you've looked at hundreds of snakes, perhaps you can tell via this method. But, as far as accuracy, I'd say this is the least accurate method. JMHO.

Hopefully Simon or one of the other more experienced corn breeders will be able to furthur explain.

[vanderkm]

Sexing by tail shape is fine for adult corns when done by someone with experience, but is not reliable for those under a year of age. I just posted a bunch of pics in a thread on probing kingsnakes here http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48103

Male tails are thicker for longer after the vent, female tails tend to taper quickly. As the post indicates, probing is the only accurate means (and even that is sometimes not easy to be sure) besides having one lay eggs!

mary v.