Does this mean shes a he?

Hey all I have been using search for quite some time and have only found one thread on what I am about to ask. sorry if its a topic that's been discussed before. here goes..

This morning my pretty girl Bertha made quite the pee, whilst cleaning up I found what look like sperm plugs or genital shed. When I got her she was popped by the breeder and only got the scent glands. I have popped her 3 more times in the past 5 months and all the same. Shes just massively thick for a male, idk heres a pic of what I found. Any help/ideas are greatly appreciated.

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...ps82c5d41a.jpg


Also another very concerning thing was her urates were peppered with black crystals. I have searched and searched and have found nothing about these black crystals. I have pics of it if you guys need to see it. Kinda want to get approval before posting poo pics. Again thank you in advance for all help!

Post the other pics so we can see what your talking about. They are approved.

As for the pic you did post I'm really not clear what that is. Could you get a better pic with more light?

Yes she would be a he now. I remember reading a post about these some time ago and if I remember right they are similar to a shed, but for the male parts.

here are the black crystal things in the urates,

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b5b5729.jpg

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...ps83b2891a.jpg

as for the first pic that's the best I could get, I will try to crop/zoom the original thank you for looking /helping!

here is a cropped pic of the plug looking things, hope it helps

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...psf3996b06.jpg

Time to rename him.

I'm curious about the black in the poop/urates. I've never seen that before.

Can't bps have a multiple fathered clutch? And if so, how can they have a sperm plug then?, as one blocks another male from trying to pass his genes with the same female. Just curious

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Could the black crystals be kidney stones?

wow that really sucks she's a he! Ive contacted the breeder and stopping by this Saturday for him to pop and probe... really hope Berthas not Bubba. About the black crystals in the urates im completely stumped. They had the same consistency as sugar crystals but black, she/he doesn't show any symptoms of being sick, drinks water regularly and eats like a pig and very alert. Thanks every one

Ball pythons don't actually have plugs. It's misnamed. But basically they shed the skin from their hemipenes. Females can have a multiple fathered clutch and I believe they can also retain sperms for I think a year.

Bertha is a he, breeder did a successful pop.... just a update.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cactusmain

Bertha is a he, breeder did a successful pop.... just a update.

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Same thing happened to me...called my first snake Eva for the longest time until I pulled this huge genital shed thing out and found out she was a he :P she is now named Levi. Messed up my breeding plans too but it's okay now. Time to pick up a new female. Lol that's what I had to do.


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yes really messed up my breeding plans :( The good thing was I got some good training on popping today, never really knew how much pressure was acceptable. Even though I purchased the snake almost 6 months ago he offered me a refund and compensation for feeders. Not sure what to do, I like him but a normal male just doesn't fit into my breeding plans specialy since I have no female ready for him, and outta rack space.. feel like i been kicked in the balls :(

Live and let live! Sucks about breeding plans, but what can you do. :)

Also, if no other suggestions pop up, I might request a fecal exam from an experienced herp vet... does look quite odd.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cactusmain

yes really messed up my breeding plans :( The good thing was I got some good training on popping today, never really knew how much pressure was acceptable. Even though I purchased the snake almost 6 months ago he offered me a refund and compensation for feeders. Not sure what to do, I like him but a normal male just doesn't fit into my breeding plans specialy since I have no female ready for him, and outta rack space.. feel like i been kicked in the balls :(

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At least you figured it out in 6months I literally found out around the end of last year and I've had him for almost 7 years lol. I was pretty devastated. But it turned out okay in the end. I like starting with a morph female so at least she will contribute some genes.


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Did you ever look into the black urate crystals? I'm curious. I've had the normal dark spots show up from one of my females urates but never black.