Reptile & Amphibian Forums

one of my males is now between 15 and 16 months old.i have noticed he shed a sperm plug last month,and just this morning i noticed another sperm plug when i removed his most recent shed from his cage.i never looked for the presence of plugs before last month so i have no idea how long he has been producing sperm(i imagine not much sooner than last month).my question is about the presence of plugs and if they mean he is ready to breed or if they are only one of many signs.i realise that to breed him now(even if he is ready)would not be a good idea as he is so small and could be injured or killed by an adult sexually mature female.i have not weighed him but he is an average sized 16 month old.so,i have no intention of attempting to breed him this soon(i was going to wait untill 2 the soonest) but just noticing the plugs has the wheels turning and im wondering ,if i wanted to,could he possibly sire a clutch??im asking the breeders here,what they think the odds are of him successfully breeding and siring a clutch at this age.these are definetly plugs so is my snake a rarity for producing them so soon??

The question should not really be can he... the question should be, would it be the best thing for the snake... and i think you answered that question...

Shiloh
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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

oh yea,no doubt that it would be a serious mistake to even attempt to breed him at this age,but im still curious about his readiness.what i mean is,in nature there are no keepers preventing snakes that become sexually mature at an unusually young age(is he that unusual??),so i was just wondering,would he even attempt to copulate??not to sound nasty but human males can get erections and produce sperm way before they have any desire let alone any idea how to have sex.im just wondering if you guys think my 15 month old thats producing sperm plugs,would attempt to copulate,put aside the fact that he may get killed in the process lol anyone ever notice plugs at an earlier age than mine??..i wasnt going to even try and find them untill close to 2,but last months shed was so perfect,it was the first shed that ever came off in one entire piece with no tears or anything.basically my snake turned inside out.so it was so perfect i had to admire it and bingo,it couldnt be mistaken for anything other than what is was.i was kinda shocked that i noticed it so soon.should i have been surprised or is it more common than i thought?

in the wild i dont think a female would give him the time of day... it is more likely that he wouldent try...
but if it did happen i think it would be a low level of fertilization... if any of the egga were good i would be supprised...

so to answer your question... yes i personally think it is possable... but vary low odds...

Shiloh
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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

It wouldn't harm any male Python to breed at 16 months. It has been done ( for years ) in just about every common species we have available to the breeder/hobbiest. He may be all over your Female, he may totally avoid breeding altogether. Depends on the individual. Shoot, some Females may be ready to breed at 16 months; Again, it depends on the individual, and the genetics behind them.

COULD be. You never know until you stick him with a male. Alot of keepers swear buy males dont show intrest until 2-3 years of age. But some have been able to breed as little as 1 year (so i hear).

One thing i love about shed plugs - No need to sex the snake .

Question for you.....why would you stick him with a male to see if he's ready? Wouldn't it be a female?
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1~Green tree python~Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....

.

no no meg,thats the real test,if hes ready hell be willing to do just about anything that moves.lol...but seriously,i took it as a typo,that is unless julian knows something we all dont know.

Is your snake one of those sissy la-la snakes???? Hmmmmm.......
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1~Green tree python~Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....

meg,my snakes all man.hey by the way,what the hell is a sperm plug anyway??? is it a chondro wet dream?damn my little guy has his mind in the gutter.

The sperm plug is a solid (sort of) plug that shows up in the males when they shed. It blocks the area that the hemipenes sit in. I think it's more a chondro, or python thing. I've never noticed it on my cornsnakes, except when they are trying to breed, then they release the sperm plugs. On cornsnakes it looks like a white semi-solid.
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1~Green tree python~Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....

yea i know what they are,just what causes them or if they have a purpose is what im curious about

maybe shedding is a turn on... LOL

Shiloh
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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

Woohoo!! Get it on!
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1~Green tree python~Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....