Quote Originally Posted by JLC View Post
I'm mystified and have no certain answers....but I do have two guesses.

IF it's some tapeworm cyst...maybe it was contained just like that within the rodent. The rodent passes through the digestive system and goes the way of all food, but the cyst within it does not get digested and passes along with the rest of the waste the next time the snake eliminates. I would think it unlikely that your snake is actually infected with tapeworms and that cyst was just passing through, so to speak.

The other guess is that it's an egg in its early stages of development and that your boy, is indeed, a girl. I have heard of a case where a small breeder had a male/female pair she was SURE of....they mated as expected....but it turned out to be the "male" of the pair that laid the eggs. Turns out both snakes were mis-sexed.

PLEASE keep us updated with what the vet says! I'm very curious about it!
Yeah, my husband is mystified by the thing too, because the species of tapeworm that that forms cysts like this have only been found in dogs, horses and cows and he can't find any scientific literature about them being found in snakes. Tape worms, yes, but not this species.

I am so bummed that the vet is booked today, but by tomorrow morning I should know for sure. I probed him again this morning, and "he" definitely probes male. I never popped him though. I really don't like that method because of the potential crushing of a hemipene factor. And he's so big now I certainly wouldn't try it myself. I've had a spider BP and a Jungle carpet sold to me know as females that turned out to be male because the breeder popped incorrectly. I could deal with it if "he" is really a "she" and probes deceptively and has male courtship and mating tendencies...that'd be strange but I could deal with that. Wouldn't hurt to have another female pastel in the collection.