How do you tell if male or female snake?

Answer:

Some of the below folks had the right idea, but not completely correct. There are two correct and accurate ways to sex snakes. The first and best method would be probing while the second method is popping.

With probing, you use special probing tools and insert them into the cloaca. Depending on the species, a certain scale depth will tell you if it is male or female. Generally the depth is further for male and shorter for female. DO NOT do this unless you have been taught by an experienced reptile breeder or vet, as you can damage the snake if done improperly.

With popping you apply pressure on the outside of the cloaca. Again, if you do this the wrong way you can damage the snake. This is best done on hatchlings and young snakes, adults are much harder to successfully do this on.

Appearance is not a good method for sexing. Someone mentioned males having spurs - this is also not the best way because females of many species of pythons and boas also have spurs, and can even have larger spurs than some males. Some species of snakes can be spur sexed but for MOST species this is not a good way to do it. Also, some species of either sex do not have spurs.

-Abi21491

Answer by Stuckinthe80s:

First let me say, If you are unsure of the answer please DO NOT REPLY!!

The idea that you can tell the sex of a snake by the colour is absolutely ridiculous.

ked arctic has it right, but I will had that in most cases you dont even need to "pop" the snake. Males will have spurs that stick out slightly in order to "hold" the female in position while mating.

It's possible to detect sex of snake only by inspecting the sex organ..The male carries bifurcated penis (may be thorny) whìch could be seen by applying a gentle pressure around the anal region.But not in females. Color definitely is not a guide to detect.

I believe that you can tell the difference between snakes by their color & size (yet size depends on the species of the snake). I've tend to notice that the male snakes seem to be lighter in color & the females usually darker in color. For this reason I do not know. But that's just what I've notcied.

Females=Darker Color
Males=Lighter Color

Now, depending on the species of the snake, size will matter. But most of the time, the female is bigger because she is the one producing the offspring when the male is more active & engaged in hunting & chasing the female. So I hope that helped.

-Jimmy