I need help with sexing my ribbon snake. I think it is a girl but due to its age it’s hard to tell. Usually when popping or just visually looking it’s easier to tell when they are young but my ribbon snake is not that young. So if anyone knows the difference for ribbon snakes please give me some advice.
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First, you’d need to actually post pictures if you want help visually, and even that may not be accurate. I wouldn’t suggest popping, as doing so incorrectly can harm the snake. MorphMarket offers DNA sexing through RGI for about $20, I’d suggest doing that as it is the most accurate and least invasive way to sex a colubrid. Did you purchase this animal unsexed?
Second, it needs to be said, stop getting more snakes until you get a handle on proper keeping. In the span of what is now less than three months you’ve gotten at least four snakes, with two of those dying likely from improper husbandry. Having enthusiasm for keeping is great, but please take the time to slow down and really learn how to properly care for these animals before adding any more.
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I second what @noodlehaus advised. There is nothing wrong with properly keeping a collection of animals but your track record so far is less than adequate. The animals that you are trying to keep are not “throw away pets” and until you learn the basics and have access to and funds for a reptile vet you should do some homework on proper care and husbandry before taking on another animal……
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You cannot visually sex a Ribbon snake.
Morphmarket has shed testing available through RGI for Colubrids where you can get the sex of your snake.
Do not attempt to probe or pop if you do not have the experience to, these should be done by an experienced breeder or a veterinarian that is willing to and has extensive experience with snakes.
Also keep in mind that a lot of Ribbon snakes that are sold are wild caught so if you just got it and have others reptiles in your collection you need quarantine it for at least 3 months. That means keeping it in an entirely separate room from your other reptiles, having minimal physical interaction with the snake outside of feeding and cleaning, cleaning the snake’s enclosure often and washing your hands and changing your clothes after interacting with the snake or touching its enclosure/anything inside its enclosure.
One more thing. I haven’t read into it yet but I agree with @noodlehaus and @caron if what they say is true. Extensive research must be done before deciding to take in any animal, if you had 2 pass away in the time span of 3 months of keeping them something is definitely wrong here and its up to you to figure that out and decide where to go from there. If you have another snake pass away it needs to be taken for a necropsy and disease testing to figure out if this is caused by a contagious disease or improper care and husbandry. This is really important especially since you have decided that you want to get that many reptiles in such a short timespan, so that you can figure out if you need to do a complete and thorough cleaning and sterilization of where you keep your reptiles before getting any more.
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