An I in danger?

Ok so I think I might have a problem. I pop my males every so often to check if they have been breeding. Today I noticed that one Of my males has not been locking up. When I popped him a bunch of bedding came out. So, I checked a male that was on his 3 day break an saw he had some bedding as well in/on hemipenis. Is this normal, dangerous and should I be concerned? I use sandi chips.

how do you know if they have been breeding by popping them?
thanks
spooky

He's popping them to see if the hemipenile casts or sperm plugs come out.

Op it's really common for them to ingest small bits of subsadrate. I personally don't think you'll have anything to worry about. You may want to keep an eye on him though. Is there alot if sub in his vent? It may also be from when his hemipenes were out an about bits of sub just getting stuck.


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i thought that the plugs, or sheds, could come out, or off at anytime.... i dont see how thats a way to determin breeding??????
spooky

No, nothing looked abnormal. He seems to be just fine. I'll keep a close eye on him.

It's not good to get substrate stuck in the vent, it can result in infected hemipenes.

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Originally Posted by mr.spooky

i thought that the plugs, or sheds, could come out, or off at anytime.... i dont see how thats a way to determin breeding??????
spooky

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It's a specific thing I do to this male because when he doesn't breed I always get plugs, but if he has bred I will get nothing or fresh sperm. I know this is no way accurate but it seems to work for him.

thanks!
spooky

They can yes. Most of the time they come out with sheds if they build up enough to hang out of the cloaca.
He's popping on the assumption that if they consummated the pairing there won't be any casts.


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assumption being the key word.... i was almost misled;)
spooky

Have you tried flushing the bedding out w/ water or something?
Like, popping your boys and squirting some water.

paper towels :gj:

I keep my snakes on newspaper just to prevent that...ohh plus its free :P

I love paper towels for all of my snakes, especially the breeders.
I hated my males getting stuff stuck to their junk :O

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

I love paper towels for all of my snakes, especially the breeders.
I hated my males getting stuff stuck to their junk :O

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^ I would tend to imagine they did as well, lol! Good info to keep in mind if ever mine get of age/size to breed. Thanks for the thread, op, learned something reading this. Thanks!

Why not put them on newspaper for the breeding season? Would eliminate the possibilty of substrate getting stuck on/in anything. When they aren't breeding, it shouldn't be as much of an issue.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Why not put them on newspaper for the breeding season? Would eliminate the possibilty of substrate getting stuck on/in anything. When they aren't breeding, it shouldn't be as much of an issue.

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I've thought about that, the down side is its not very oder friendly. I used newspaper before but I know a lot of breeders don't use it. Not really my thing, everyone has a preference. I would like to try coconut chips or cypress, just can't find them anywhere. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

I love paper towels for all of my snakes, especially the breeders.
I hated my males getting stuff stuck to their junk :O

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Though I haven't bred yet, I second this. Paper towels for bedding is SO much easier.

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He's popping on the assumption that if they consummated the pairing there won't be any casts.

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Sorry to hijack - so you're saying if I pop a male and see any residual sperm, that it's unlikely that he's locked recently?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Why not put them on newspaper for the breeding season? Would eliminate the possibilty of substrate getting stuck on/in anything. When they aren't breeding, it shouldn't be as much of an issue.

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x3 All of my breeding females are on newspaper to prevent this exact scenario.

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Originally Posted by Kylegep

I've thought about that, the down side is its not very oder friendly.

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Clean your tubs more often and they won't stink. Odor = excretions or mildew that don't need to be in there anyway. My breeders mess their tubs when they're paired, but then they always get fresh tubs when separated.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

x3 All of my breeding females are on newspaper to prevent this exact scenario.



Clean your tubs more often and they won't stink. Odor = excretions or mildew that don't need to be in there anyway. My breeders mess their tubs when they're paired, but then they always get fresh tubs when separated.

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It's not that my tubs are dirty, it's just when they drop a load there is no cover smell and as soon as you walk in the house you know one took a poo. The wood makes it smell a little less in that case