Ok I've got some questions.. I understand the concept of sperm plugs. My question is how effective are they and how long do they work?? I understand female boas can retain sperm for long periods of time, but how effectively can they utilize it?? Does insemination need to take place immediately before ovulation or is it common that most males get the job done weeks before and females utilize it when ovulation occurs??

I started a breeding trial late September, the pair courted immediately.. Courting was witnessed for over a month as was a small swell (preov most likely).. The male showed no interest for the following 2 weeks, I figured he finished the job. Last year I had a female go through gestation without ANY signs at all, no preov, no ovulation and now POS, so I figured I missed ovulation on this female as well. Currently the same male has been with his 2nd female courting heavily and I've witnessed copulation on many occasions. Two days ago I noticed the first female looking larger than average and the original male was very preoccupied so I introduced a different male with female number one.. This is where my questions are springing from.. Is it possible the original male inseminated female number one, and also blocked entry with sperm plugs so the female could not be re-mated?? I've done as much searching as I can on the internet, no solid information and I've got the book "Captive Husbandry and Reproduction of Pythons and Boas" on its way in the mail... Thanks in advance to anyone with insight..
Take care

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• Breeding questions.... Sperm Plugs? Sperm retention? - BCIMorphs, Sun Nov 20 21:17:51 2005