This might sound a little odd but it's actually actually good question thats probably over looked. Can burns from heat pads and other similar heating devices damage the snake's chance to produce if you catch my drift? I'm kind afraid that happened to my male after he burned him self on some heat tape several months ago, it wasn't a bad burn and was completely gone after his next shed. But I am afraid it stole his right to produce offspring. And as for the heating pad I know many are against it, but he never had an issue with it before because I keep his eco bedding high enough so the surface is warm and not hot, but that one mishap of giving him another bedding for a few days changed everything. He does also have a heat bulb, yes there is a cool side and warm side. The only reason I have come to this question is because I had popped my another snake and results said it was a girl. I wanted pop my male that I got from Royal Constrictors to make sure I was putting enough pressure on the area like compare the two, and some stuff did come out but it was shriveled and dried so this brought me to if the burn damaged that area or if I didn't press hard enough or if Garrick mis-sexed my snake? Hopefully you guys can help?