male vs female garter snakes

[FitnessFreak]

ok i heard female garters grow to 3ft, and males around 2.

i would prefer a smaller snake so i'm looking to get a male.

just wandering(hehe) how you can tell a male wandering garter snake from a female wandering garter snake, seeing as i will try and catch a baby in mid june.

[adamanteus]

With a baby, you'll find it really hard to distinguish between the sexes. There are methods but (no offence) if performed by inexperienced hands they can be dangerous for the snake.

[FitnessFreak]

Originally Posted by adamanteus

With a baby, you'll find it really hard to distinguish between the sexes. There are methods but (no offence) if performed by inexperienced hands they can be dangerous for the snake.

ok, well i think are there any visual ways you can distinguish?
i saqw som1 post a pic of their snake and ask if it was male or female, and you guys could decide pretty quick, even tho i had no idea =\

[adamanteus]

Yes, but that was an adult snake, which is pretty easy. The body form changes as a the snake grows, and it becomes quite simple to distinguish between the sexes. With baby snakes the visual differences are not apparent. Here's a thought....why not collect more than one snake, take them to an experienced keeper or reputable reptile store and ask them to sort a male one out of the bunch?

[ssssnakeluvr]

with new babies y ou can't tell by looking. the males sex organs haven't developed any size yet so there will be not much of a size difference at teh base of the tail. Y ou gotta have someone experienced either probe or "pop" the baby to tell for sure. If you don't know what you are doing you can seriously injure the snake.