Quote Originally Posted by xdeus
If females can store sperm for years, is the cooling process used to initiate copulation or to initiate ovulation?
It is very rare for a female that is properly cycles to store sperm for more than a breeding season. Post warm up temps should be warm enough to destroy any sperm that the female is retaining. If they aren't, you're doing it wrong.

The cooling process is used to help get males and females "in the mood" ... ie. males producing viable sperm and females receptive to the males advances. More importantly, we cool in order to have a "warm up". Because ball pythons may breed all year round without being cycled, but females need the "warm up" as their cue to ovulate.

-adam