A Corn Snake's Difference Between a Male & Female

Corn snakes (Elaphe guttata), also called red rat snakes, are common in forested areas of the southeastern and central United States. Corn snakes receive their common name from the checkered pattern on their belly that resembles wild maize. They grow up to 5 feet long and vary greatly in pattern and color, from dark brown to bright red. There are very few visible differences between male and female corn snakes. However, trained veterinarians and herpetologists use several methods to determine the sex of corn snakes.

  1. Size

    • Male corn snakes often grow larger than female snakes. However, size is not always a reliable means of determining the sex of a corn snake, since variables such as age, habitat and diet allow for some snakes to grow larger than others, regardless of sex. The average size of corn snakes in captivity is 30 to 48 inches; the largest recorded corn snake on record was 72 inches.

    Tail Size

    • A more specific way to judge the sex of a corn snake by eye is to examine the size of the tail. Because males have a forked hemipenes that they use to copulate with females when mating, the base of their tail is often wider and longer than females'. Count the number of scales from the cloaca to the tip of the tail. Male corn snakes usually have between 67 and 86 scales, while females have only 41 to 62.

    Popping

    • Popping is a term used to describe a procedure where veterinarians attempt to force out the reproductive organ of a hatchling snake. Corn snakes have a paired hemipenes located near the base of their tail that remains under their scale until they reproduce. By applying pressure to the back of the snake at exactly the right point, veterinarians can pop out the hemipenes if the snake is a male. If the hemimpenes does not emerge, then the corn snake is a female. Popping can be done only with hatchling snakes and should be attempted only by trained professionals, since pressure at the wrong place can seriously injure young corn snakes.

    Probing

    • Adult corn snakes can be sexed by experienced veterinarians using a sterile probe. The probe is inserted into the cloaca of a mature snake and its sex is determined by how far the probe enters the snake. Probes enter to a depth of six to eight subcaudal scales in males and only to a depth of two to four subcaudal scales in females. The probe enters further in males because it passes the forked hemipenes.