Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

I purchased a "female" het pied last year and was concerned that she wasn't gaining weight quite as fast as the other females in my collection. I understand that each snake grows differently and I wouldn't be able to judge by growth alone if it was a female but I kept in mind that ball pythons are kind of sexually dimorphic. Anyhow, I attempted to pop her to ease my nerves but in my attempt, what appeared to be sperm plugs, came right out. Two squeezed out in fact. Now my question is, do female ball pythons produce anything similar to sperm plugs, like dried mucus or skin?

Note: yes ... I know I should have it sexed immediately after the purchase to make sure I got what I paid for but it was one of my first purchases and I wasn't sure what I was doing so I relied on my faith in the ball python community.

Yes, females do have scent glands located in the same area as the males have their hemipenes. The scent can dry out and when the snake is popped the resulting plug can look like a sperm plug. However, it won't be as long as a sperm plug and (if I remember correctly from the last time I had it happen) it is darker than sperm plugs.

You'll have to probe it to be sure of it's sex at this point. Popping can work, but if the male has enough control over the muscles in that area it can be difficult to properly pop him and your results will not be as definitive as actually probing it would be.

good luck!

Pitoon

Some snakes definately do gain weight much slower than others.

And both males and females will pop out some foul smelling gunk if you try and pop them as adults. It usually takes a lot of expertise and more than a little manhandling to properly pop an adult snake, and even then the goop comes out.

Sperm plugs aren't really sperm plugs anyway - they're accumulated hemipene sheds.

Like both previous posters said - probing is the only way to be sure.

~jenny
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"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words."
- Anna Sewell (1820-1878)