I thought I just read a post recently that explained the same misconception, but rather than dried sperm it was said that the things that people were commonly calling "sperm plugs" were hemipene casts, like a shed from the hemipene. I can't recall exactly which post that was in, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but that was the impression (no pun intended) that I got . Does anyone else recall that conversation or have any info on whether there is such a thing as a hemipene cast?Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion
"Sperm plug" isn't really right, anyhow. In general, a sperm plug is something you would find in a female, after a male has bred with her, and its purpose is to block other males from successfully copulating. Ball pythons don't produce sperm plugs. The little stringy things the male produces are just bits of dried and partially dried semen caught in the hemipenal pockets, they aren't plugging anything.
I know it's in common use--perhaps the mistaken use of the term has confused a few people.
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