Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to find out for certain which gender your ball python is without popping or probing your pet.
Although there is a way of predicting whether an adult ball python is a male or a female by its size, this form of prediction is nowhere near perfectly accurate, as every ball python is different, and in combination with environmental factors, will grow to a unique size regardless of its gender. That being said, if you don’t feel comfortable popping your ball python yourself, if you don’t want to bother going to someone who knows how to do it, and if you just want to estimate, say because you don’t really care either way which gender your ball python is because you won’t be breeding your pet, predicting a ball python’s gender based on size might be a good option for you.
Since male ball pythons typically get to be between 3-4 feet long (91-122 cm), and female ball pythons normally grow to be between 4-5 feet (122-152 cm), if you have an adult ball python and it’s between 3-4 feet, you’re more likely to have a male than a female, and if your ball python is between 4-5 feet, your python is more likely to be female than male. Of course this method of prediction is not anywhere near accurate because many variables apply to the length of a ball python: how well it’s been fed in the past, how its genetics play out, how big its meals are, etc., but if you only want an estimate, measuring its size is a decent way to guess.
I have been told that my ball python is male because it has 2 of those thingys on either side of the opening on the underside of the tail an because the colors are light. I don’t know her/his age. I’ve had her about 6 months an she was gave to me. She’s a little over 2ft. What’s your feelings on what I’ve been told? Please email your thoughts. Many thanks. An may I add Havana is beautiful!
Unfortunately, I’m really no good at personally telling whether a ball python is male or female, though I have heard before that genders are sometimes mistaken if a good look isn’t taken. Ask around any reptile shops in your area to see if someone can figure out her/his gender and take her in if you want some confirmation! I feel like trying to tell gender based on size is a pretty inaccurate science, but it’s better than nothing if you don’t want to take a ball python to an expert. Not quite sure if that helps!
And thank you for the compliment on Havana :).