possible retained sperm?

I'm starting to wonder if this lady had some retained sperm from last year but don't have any experience with that. I got her about month ago. The breeder said she had her first clutch last year for him and wasn't paired with anything this year. In that time she has had no interest in feeding, I recently noticed she has been having that "lumpy" look while lying around and last night noticed her huge belly bulge that's hard and definitely wasnt there before but I cant feel any defined bumps. She also seems more pissy the last few days. Her weight has only gone down a few grams in the last month that she hasnt eaten. Any guesses? I know it's early in the season for this behavior but figured anything is possible if she decided to use some of a stored stash.


http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...106_222836.jpg

There is no season... ball pythons will breed throughout the year if they are paired. That definitely looks like an ovulation to me and with the refusal of food, she most likely is having a clutch. Just keep an eye on her for a while.

I figure I'll hold off and see what happens before asking what she was paired with last year. The breeder told me what it was but I forgot. I had purple passions on my mind when I got her and wasn't interested since whatever he said wasn't a morph I was interested in lol Maybe it'll be a good test to see what I can recognize if/when they hatch. So much for giving her a year off if she is ovulating! Maybe I shouldn't have named her Wench..

That last sentence made me laugh loud enough I scared my dog. Grats and good luck!

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Originally Posted by Kokorobosoi

That last sentence made me laugh loud enough I scared my dog. Grats and good luck!

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Thanks! where her tail crosses over her back the stripe is broken so I thought it looked like an anchor and was trying to think of something "nautical" haha.

That is unmistakably an ovulation. I know it kind of cramps your breeding plans but Congrats just the same on some new worms. It may be kind of fun to hatch a mystery clutch. Watch for the shed because it is sue to follow and best of luck.

mystery babies YAY!!!!!!
good luck with them

That is going to be a hard wait. You when pair BPs yourself, you at least know the possible outcome. In this case you have over 3000 morphs as a possibility. Good luck with those odds.

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Originally Posted by BCS

That is going to be a hard wait. You when pair BPs yourself, you at least know the possible outcome. In this case you have over 3000 morphs as a possibility. Good luck with those odds.

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I'll be able to ask the breeder I got her from what he had her with last year. He told me what it was when I got her since I wanted to make suuuure she is a phantom and I just forgot. I'll see him again in 2 weeks so I'm just trying to wait til then to ask but who knows, I might go state at her again and end up emailing him tonight. I'm terrible waiting for surprises!

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Originally Posted by HannahLou

I'll be able to ask the breeder I got her from what he had her with last year. He told me what it was when I got her since I wanted to make suuuure she is a phantom and I just forgot. I'll see him again in 2 weeks so I'm just trying to wait til then to ask but who knows, I might go state at her again and end up emailing him tonight. I'm terrible waiting for surprises!

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I am the same way. i couldn't wait.

Well I couldn't wait and had to ask. She was paired with a blackhead last year. Nothing I really want to keep from that combination and not so excited about possibly having normals to find homes for. womp womp. Still fun to watch the process happen.

and the wait continues. She's been staying coiled nicely on the heat for a while now and I keep staring at her a couple times a day as if it'll make her shed faster. I offer food weekly even though she has no interest so things seem to be going as normal. http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...120_082046.jpg

Congrats. I hope the hatchlings are all healthy. That's a beautiful ball python btw. She probably will surprise you with what she produces. Haha.

Very nice looking girl. I absolutely love Phantoms. Looks a lot like a girl I got from Ralph Davis.

IT'S THE FINAL COUNT DOWN dodododo dodododo dodododo
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...129_214814.jpg

Any update on the mystery clutch? :)

Just that she finally shed so a few weeks til eggs. I hope they're fertile, the black head combos are growing on me.

That's pretty crazy, good lookin girl too! Anxious to see what you get. Good luck with[emoji106]

Black Heads alone aren't all that visually striking, but they do produce a number of combos that are, especially if you like dark morphs. Some Black Heads also carry additional genes - Red Gene and Ringer Gene that add even more variety. Black Head Mojave is a simple 2 gene combo that looks nice in my opinion and there are many new BH combos to be made. Good luck with the odds!

I love blackhead combo! Congrats on the surprise clutch!!

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Originally Posted by D_ONE

Black Heads alone aren't all that visually striking, but they do produce a number of combos that are, especially if you like dark morphs. Some Black Heads also carry additional genes - Red Gene and Ringer Gene that add even more variety. Black Head Mojave is a simple 2 gene combo that looks nice in my opinion and there are many new BH combos to be made. Good luck with the odds!

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Thanks! Depending what I end up with i might shoot for some piebald BH. I'm not the biggest fan of the dark morphs besides some GHIs but am wondering if I can get a pied somewhat close to the black pastel panda pieds. Though, I'd probably just want to keep them all for myself lol