Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How long can a female store sperm for? I just got to thinking, because one of my resuce girls that I got in Oct. was showing some signs of ovulating(belly up) but I think it is because she had a nice meal yesterday. But made me start to wonder if that could ever happen, she has been no where near a male since I had her but before who knows.
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Misty

6 ball pythons and adding...
Marilyn (A.K.A. garbage gut)-male
Lil Girl-female
Hiss-female
Skiddish-male
no name-female
Big Bucks-male albino

sperm storage is fairly widespread in herps. Probably several months is not unusual in BP's. My original female laid fertile eggs which hatched after not being with another ball python for almost NINE YEARS! This was most likely parthenogenesis. I described this "event" in a forum post last spring (do an archival search, using key word 'parthenogenesis'). I think that when a female is bred to a male with good fertility, potentially a years' storage is not out of the question. Obviously this can confound paternity in the following year's production. Hope this helps!
Scott J. Michaels DVM

that is interesting idea. I was told this female laid 4 eggs 2 good in april last year, and she was given to the rescue lady because she is very thin. I am not sure she ever really laid eggs or not, she only weighs around 800 grams right now and that is after I have feed her a number of rats in the last few months(she is a picky eater). Well this same rescue place gave my friend 2 females around the same time which after he probed turned out to be male (mine probed female), but needless to say it could have been kept with males before I got her.

thanks for your info

the other way.....

they can breed and breed all winter and still lay all duds....

...... perhaps from not storing sperm for any length of time at all ...???......... perhaps from the sperm being no good....>???..... (but if all other females laid good eggs..... she must not -theoretically -have saved any at all????) ........

...................

.......as you just said ....if they store it for more than a year.......ALL POSSIBLE HET AND HETS ARE IN FACT not as possible if the female was used the prior year for any breedings at all..........
makes you wonder about all these big old females that are sucked up to get $$$$$4 hets from.........

(this is why...I ,personally....have used all virgin females in the making of all het and possible hets here....)....YEP......gotta trust that huh...?......

unless you believe in parthenogenisis in ophidians.....

hmmmmmmmm..........

sorry.......JY

The guy I bought my het ghost from was bummed out about a clutch he produced in 2003. Seems he bred a ghost female to a ghost male and produced all ghosts in 2002. Then for 2003 he bred this same ghost female to a pastel not expected to carry the ghost gene but again produced all ghosts (no pastels). Apparently this female retained sperm from the 2002 season to produce her 2003 babies even though she was exposed to a different male for 2003.

We need a paternity test for ball pythons!

n/p