Help with Sexing?

[Sherrie]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post, but have been lurking for awhile. My son got an albino checkered a few months ago and we requested a male, but not sure that's what we got. Was hoping y'all could take a look. Also he was supposedly 3 months when we got him and was about 9 inches, that would make him about 7 months now and he's about 12 - 13 inches. Does that sound about right for size/age? Here are the pics. The first one was taken right after we got him. The 2nd two were taken today.

Thanks!
Sherrie

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[ProXimuS]

I would probably think male, but I'd like to see other members answers. In the first picture is there something over his eye or is that just a flash from the camera?

[Sherrie]

Thanks. Yes that spot in the first pic is just the flash from the camera. I've looked at the pics in the sexing thread and I'm just not sure. I'm kind of thinking male too, but wasn't sure. After I initially looked at the pics in the sexing thread then looked at my snake (Morpheus), I was thinking female, but after I took the pics I'm thinking maybe male. I just don't know.

[guidofatherof5]

I will say Male but have my suspicions. Might be easier to tell as the snake matures.

[Sherrie]

Here's a couple more pics. I just took these.
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[guidofatherof5]

Great looking little scrub. Looks like it had a retained tail tip shed at some point. If I'm seeing that correctly he'll lose that dried twig looking tip.
Not a major issue but you must make sure sheds are complete(account for both eye caps and a complete tail shed) Albinos are the worst for seeing the opaque(shedding) phase the snakes go in. Make with you keep the humidity around 50-60% and have a large water dish in for pre-soaking before shed.
The tail tip will fall off on its own or you could remove it with a pair of toenail clippers(properly sterilized). There could be a very small amount of blood but applying pressure to the area with a piece of toilet paper will stop the bleeding.

[thamneil]

I'll disagree with the others and say female. This little one is very iffy looking to my eye. Time will certainly tell!

As for the tail, Steve nailed it. It should also fall off on it's own if left alone. Looks pretty dried up to me. Nice looking snakeling!

[Sherrie]

Uh oh. I don't know. His tail tip is brown. I don't see any skin on it now. He did just shed today. I'll make sure I watch that closer in the future.

[guidofatherof5]

If it's brown and shriveled looking it is dead. The retained shed cuts off the blood flow and that section of tail and it dies. It takes much longer then a few days or even weeks for this to occur. The snake probably came to you with this problem.

[thamneil]

I have a male checkered who lost his tail tip. The end became very shrivelled and when I tried to remove a bit of attached shed, the tip popped right off with it! A few drops of blood later and everything was back to normal.

Personally, I would just leave the tip to fall off naturally. I would be more worried about cutting it at the wrong point. Too far in and you will cut live tissue. Too far out, and you will leave dead tissue that will be harder to detach on it's own. Easiest thing to do is observe and let it do it's thing.

[guidofatherof5]

Good advice Neil.

[Sherrie]

Yea, I will probably just leave it. I wouldn't want to cut off too much and it's really just a small piece. I'm still disappointed about it though.

[thamneil]

The choice between cutting and not cutting all has to deal with individual comfort level. It also varies from situation to situation. Our little reptiles are pretty resilient critters!

As for being disappointed, don't be! S/he is still exactly the same snake personality wise. I felt really terrible after mine lost his tail tip. I felt this way for about a week and then realized that it made no difference! Perfectly figured snakes are over-rated. ;)

[ProXimuS]

After seeing the snake from above and the side, it looks more female. Like Steve said it should be easier to tell when the snake has grown.

[adamanteus]

I think you have a female there, although it can be difficult to tell from photos, especially with a young one.

[chris-uk]

I'd err on the female side too. It looks like the tail starts to taper immediately after the vent, but there isn't as distinct a taper as I see on my two checkered girls. I'll say female for now, but I'd suggest that you post some more pics in a few months (maybe before you get your next garter?) to see if it's an easier call.

[Sherrie]

Thanks for your help everyone. I knew from the sexing thread that this one just didn't seem quite as obvious as some. I will definitely keep posting pics as time goes by and we'll just go from there. My son really wants it to be a boy though. Lol. So we'll probably keep calling it a he until more confirmed. So does 12 or 13 inches for an approximately 7 month old sound about right? Mostly just trying to figure out if I have his age right.

[guidofatherof5]

Guessing age is exactly that, a guess. Any chance you can get any birthing info. from the place you bought it?
I've got a 4 year old(maybe more) male red radix that looks like a first year snake in size.

[chris-uk]

So does 12 or 13 inches for an approximately 7 month old sound about right? Mostly just trying to figure out if I have his age right.

At one point I had three checkered girls, all from the same litter - not sure about the lengths, but one weighed 8g and another was over 30g. The variation in length was similar. Unfortunately two of the four failed to thrive, but the two sisters that are left are the biggest two and one looks like it could be 2-3 years old and the other looks like the 18 months it is.
12 or 13 inches sounds like it's a 2012, but being more accurate than that is (as Steve has said) a guessing game.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

I'm with you on this one steve that third tail pic looks male, but i guess we'll have to wait until it matures to know for sure.
i will say male but have my suspicions. Might be easier to tell as the snake matures.

[Steveo]

The side view of the tail looks female to me, but I'm not positive either. It's usually easier to tell once they hit sexual maturity, right?

[guidofatherof5]

The side view of the tail looks female to me, but I'm not positive either. It's usually easier to tell once they hit sexual maturity, right?

Funny you say that Steve. I caught a good sized female radix and placed it in an enclosure with some others, only to find out he was in heaven. Biggest male radix I've ever seen. He's now in with the males and looks out of place size wise.

[Steveo]

Funny you say that Steve. I caught a good sized female radix and placed it in an enclosure with some others, only to find out he was in heaven. Biggest male radix I've ever seen. He now in with the males and looks out of place size wise.

It's like breeding guppies... better to guess male and end up with a female in the male tank than to guess female and end up with a male in the female tank :p

[guidofatherof5]

It's like breeding guppies... better to guess male and end up with a female in the male tank than to guess female and end up with a male in the female tank :p

Sounds like fishy business going on.:D

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

going by the most recent photos, especially the side view, I think you have a thick tailed female.

[Sherrie]

Here's a few updated pics of our guy (gal?). Still not sure about the sex. The straight on vent shot looks male to me, but the side view? I don't know.

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He should be almost a year old now and he's about 17 inches long.

[guidofatherof5]

I say male. The width of the tail stays wide for at least 6 scales. This isn't as pronounced as some males can be but there isn't any taper at the beginning of the vent like on a female.

MALE.

Disclaimer: If I am wrong then I say female.:D

[Sherrie]

Lol. So approximately how old are they at sexual maturity?

[guidofatherof5]

Some male will be at 12 months and females usually later at 18 to 24 months.
This all varies sometimes.

[ConcinusMan]

Male, and probably just coming into sexual maturity.

[Invisible Snake]

I agree with everyone else, it's male.

[Selkielass]

I'm thinking male.
looks a lot like Ziva at that size, but Ziva was way fatter, complicating the matter.

I began to suspect Ziva was male when I caught him sunning in a way that the light shone through his tail section, sorta like candling an egg or holding g documents over a light table.
The hemipene pocket area looked different than the muscle and bone of the rest of the tail- more similar to the guts in front of the vent.

With albinos back lighting can be very illuminating.

[ConcinusMan]

I didn't even think about that but yeah, with some young albinos and especially snows, you can actually see the hemipenes if you use a strong backlight and shine it through. This usually works best when they're around a year old, give or take a couple of months.

[Sherrie]

Thanks for the input everyone! My son is thrilled to know he doesn't have to change his snake's name! If it turned out to be female, she was going to be stuck with the name Morpheus. Lol. That's very interesting about using the backlight. Wish I had thought of that before. I am going to try it. I'll try to take some pics and if it works out I'll post them.

[Sherrie]

Ok. We tried the backlight thing. I wasn't able to get a pic. There's just too much glare with the bright light. There's a dark area at the vent, but it's only about a quarter inch long. Does that sound right for a male that's about 17 inches long or could that be female?

[ConcinusMan]

I don't what you're seeing but I'm still sure it's a male so male parts will be in the base of the tail. Sometimes you can see one on one side of the base and usually a smaller one on the other if enough light comes through and there's enough contrast. I wouldn't expect that you would be able to photograph it and it won't always work but you can try to look yourself.

I'm sticking with male regardless of what you see or don't see by using backlighting. There's a slight bulge after the cloaca and it doesn't taper right away. Female tail would be immediately narrower below the cloaca and shorter.

[Sherrie]

Ok. That's great! Thanks! :D