Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I know this is stupid, BUT, what do they look like and when do males produce them. Is it at a certain age and is it year round or just during their breeding season. Also I assume that a male producing sperm plugs is theoretically ready to breed or am I wrong to assume this? A pic would be nice, but I would understand if no one had one of these laying around. Thanks in advance for any responce.

This is what they look like:

Great Pic!! Males need to be around a year and 700g in my opinon at the very least!!!!
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Greg Power
B.O.A. Inc
boainc@gmail.com

yes, in theory, if a male is producing sperm plugs, then he is ready to breed. however, in reality, just because a male is producing sperm plugs, doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to breed. my 05' pastel male was between 600-700 grams and producing sperm plugs at about 7 months but wouldn't breed at all during the 05'-06' breeding season. even though he was physically mature enough, i can only assume that he wasn't mature enough for his instincts. for the 06'-07' season he was a total stud. some will breed at less than a year if they are physically mature, but i think it's more the exception than the rule.

dave
High End Royal Pythons

I bred mine at 450. I told Neil Golli he weighed 450 and Neil said "BREED IT NOW."

THANKS NEIL!

Thanks for the pic. Will males always produce these when they are in a breeding mood, I guess what I want to know is, if a male is not producing these, can he still successfully breed? I have several 05 and 06 males that are in the 600 to 900 gram range but I have never seen a sperm plug, however I have never really looked for them either. Thanks.

It's been said that sperm and egg production may be temperature dependent - so you might not see any plugs until you cycle them for breeding - this might be especially true for the younger ones. In my limited experience I can pop plugs in my guys occasionally throughout the year - but they seem to be more substantial in the cooling period.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

Insert Silly Quote Here

Actually sperm plugs are not sperm at all. Here is a link to VPI's website where Dave explains it. I found this very interesting.
http://www.vpi.com/mailbag/2007/02/a_female_ball_python_that_seems_to_be_a_male