Hi Matt -

Just to answer the part of your question about whether or not they are really copulating - Once most boids get down to business, so to speak, you can actually check for intromission by locating their tails amidst their coils and very slowly and gently prying them apart just a little. As long as you take it easy, it doesn’t seem to bother them too much and they probably won’t disengage, although they definitely try to keep you out of there by putting a little more squeeze on! To give you an idea – a pair of blood pythons is pictured below. The male's tail is at the bottom of the photo.

-Joan

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