Sperm Plug in a female?

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Could it possibly have been unset urates?


dr del

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Hmmm.. that's a possibility because, from what I've seen, it only happens every month or so ( I will be sure to examine her daily). Any chance there is a picture somewhere? I wish I had kept it in a glass or something haha

Also, in regards to the blood, it was because she just shed. There were a few droplets on the paper towels. There has NEVER been any blood visible at any other time except for this morning. That's why i didn't bring it up to begin with.

Now, from what I've been reading, something of this nature has not been observed before or its something so simple that I'm going to feel like an idiot. My friend has read quite a few books on snakes and infectious disease ( Planning on vet school) and he says that hes never heard of this before and the only book that might have it is the vet book on reptiles. And good luck getting that apparently.

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Originally Posted by Black_Shark

Hmmm.. that's a possibility because, from what I've seen, it only happens every month or so ( I will be sure to examine her daily). Any chance there is a picture somewhere? I wish I had kept it in a glass or something haha

Also, in regards to the blood, it was because she just shed. There were a few droplets on the paper towels. There has NEVER been any blood visible at any other time except for this morning. That's why i didn't bring it up to begin with.

Now, from what I've been reading, something of this nature has not been observed before or its something so simple that I'm going to feel like an idiot. My friend has read quite a few books on snakes and infectious disease ( Planning on vet school) and he says that hes never heard of this before and the only book that might have it is the vet book on reptiles. And good luck getting that apparently.

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Hmm.. Do you have a good herp vet? You MAY be able to call him/her and inquire about it.

Does the discharge seem to be coming from the tail portion of the vent or the body side?

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Hmm.. Do you have a good herp vet? You MAY be able to call him/her and inquire about it.

Does the discharge seem to be coming from the tail portion of the vent or the body side?

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We have a good herp vet but they also charge ridiculous prices. $56 to get in the door. I'm going to call in the morning.

Can't really say to be honest. And I'm not sure if "discharge" is the correct word. Its got the consistency of wet boogers (Literally EXACTLY the same consistency, sorry for the crude example) with the same coloration. Also it is not frequent whatsoever nor is it accompanied by blood, more "discharge" or anything unusual. Since this occured a month ago also, if it was some type of infection, it should have gotten worse, much worse, by now but it has not.

Yeah, I'm stumped.

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Originally Posted by Black_Shark

We have a good herp vet but they also charge ridiculous prices. $56 to get in the door. I'm going to call in the morning.

Can't really say to be honest. And I'm not sure if "discharge" is the correct word. Its got the consistency of wet boogers (Literally EXACTLY the same consistency, sorry for the crude example) with the same coloration. Also it is not frequent whatsoever nor is it accompanied by blood, more "discharge" or anything unusual. Since this occured a month ago also, if it was some type of infection, it should have gotten worse, much worse, by now but it has not.

Yeah, I'm stumped.

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See if you can talk to the vet without coming in for 'advice'.

My best guess is that it's mucus secreted from the anus to help pass waste (most animals have such a mucus secretion). It's just odd that none of us have ever encountered it before in such a large quantity. Did she just have a REALLY big poop?

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

See if you can talk to the vet without coming in for 'advice'.

My best guess is that it's mucus secreted from the anus to help pass waste (most animals have such a mucus secretion). It's just odd that none of us have ever encountered it before in such a large quantity. Did she just have a REALLY big poop?

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That is what I am going to try for tomorrow. My roommate has spent quite a bit there so hopefully they will be amenable.

And what do you consider a large quantity? Because the amount I'm talking about could be wrapped around a pen tip.

Now, a mucus secretion. If boogers are considered mucus than we may have found a better word to describe this situation. Any chance you can explain that further?

Also, she has not had a huge poop yet. Its been about a month though so shes due sometime soon.

Edit: Also, in regards to never seeing it before, this "mucus" was literally IN THE ANUS, not outside of it. Like I said before, the only reason I've seen it was because, one month ago, I decided to try to pop her and when I was stretching back the tail and the hole widened, I noticed it. Second time was because of the blood shed, but that was normal. So this is not something I would think one would encounter normally.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Black_Shark

That is what I am going to try for tomorrow. My roommate has spent quite a bit there so hopefully they will be amenable.

And what do you consider a large quantity? Because the amount I'm talking about could be wrapped around a pen tip.

Now, a mucus secretion. If boogers are considered mucus than we may have found a better word to describe this situation. Any chance you can explain that further?

Also, she has not had a huge poop yet. Its been about a month though so shes due sometime soon.

Edit: Also, in regards to never seeing it before, this "mucus" was literally IN THE ANUS, not outside of it. Like I said before, the only reason I've seen it was because, one month ago, I decided to try to pop her and when I was stretching back the tail and the hole widened, I noticed it. Second time was because of the blood shed, but that was normal. So this is not something I would think one would encounter normally.

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Large enough to notice, I suppose.
If it's that minuscule of an amount, I'm sure it's just some anal mucus or at least something unimportant. Perhaps she's preparing for that poop.
I didn't realize it was such a small amount. :rofl:

It could have something to do with shedding too. I'm not entirely sure, but I wonder if the oils that are secreted for shedding might have something to do with it.

I'll look some things up. I would keep an eye out for it more, but I can't see it being unusual to find a small amount of mucus within the cloaca when there are tons of mucus secreting epithelium right there.

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Large enough to notice, I suppose.
If it's that minuscule of an amount, I'm sure it's just some anal mucus or at least something unimportant. Perhaps she's preparing for that poop.
I didn't realize it was such a small amount. :rofl:

It could have something to do with shedding too. I'm not entirely sure, but I wonder if the oils that are secreted for shedding might have something to do with it.

I'll look some things up. I would keep an eye out for it more, but I can't see it being unusual to find a small amount of mucus within the cloaca when there are tons of mucus secreting epithelium right there.

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I bet she is :rolleyes: Yeah, I think its a natural process within the body. Please let me know when you do find something out. Also, it was a small amount. Nothing large or extravagant sorry if it came out that way haha

Update: She pooped this morning. So maybe it was mucus.

Assuming that she goes to the vet and come back confirmed as healthy AND female... yes, I have seem something similar to sperm plugs come from female vents. "Smegma," is what my herp vet called it. The equivalent of cloaca toe jam, I guess... probably a combo of left over shed and stale cloaca fluids. :P Delicious, right?

It's generally not as "structured" as a sperm plug, but it's about the same consistency when moist.

Attention!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rogMwNYIL.jpg

That is all.


dr del