Is this the real thing?

[butters!]

OOPS, I thought u were saying "Yes that is for real" as in saying u agreed with Beared My Bad

lol,no biggie!

[Reptotica26]

So, how exactly is "probing" done?

[butters!]

OOPS, I thought u were saying "Yes that is for real" as in saying u agreed with Beared My Bad

lol,no biggie! and sorry for this turning into something it shouldnt have either.

[butters!]

this would be a ? i cannot answer.i have popped but not probed.

[BallzOfSteel]

i would take them to a vet to be probed..you can damage them pretty good if you don't know what your doing, same with popping.

i have found that the male's tail is always under the females during courtship, but that's not something to go by...

[Sonya610]

Am I missing something from this story? Your family has had these animals together for 20 years and this is the first time they have bred? That seems very odd, unless one of them is sterile and that is why they have never produced a clutch before.

Did you change the husbandry since you got them? Maybe this is the first time?

[rabernet]

I'd get your uncle who's the vet to probe them for you to sex them.

I would also recommend that you house them in separate enclosures from now on. Ball pythons are solitary and do not desire each other's companionship (except to breed). They aren't "cuddling", they are dominating one another.

[starmom]

But... if they have been housed together for the last 20 years, and both snakes are in good shape and healthy, would you really suggest that she separate them? I fully understand the reasons for separation (poo, pee, health, etc) and all of mine are separated, but, they have been together for 20 years without it being the end of the free world!!!!

Are these snakes always separate in the wild or is it that the gravid females are found alone in dens (understandable for survival of the species...)

[Reptotica26]

Yes, this is the first time they have been observed breeding. They very well could have been doing it for years but no clutch of eggs has ever been found. So Sonya, your stamtement of one of them being sterile is quite possible. I'll take them out to my uncle's clinic to be sexed. In the mean time, could you give me a time line of events starting at copulation. When can u actually tell if she is carrying a clutch, how long before she lays, etc...
Any info/input is much appreciated, and thanx for your post thusfar

[qiksilver]

Seriously butters? are you for real?

McKinsey, I've never read anything about communal dens in ball pythons, but for many snakes the 'cuddling' is often competition for resources, which sometimes will lead to the demise of the smaller animal. Communal dens can be found in snakes, but not often, the notable exceptions being some north american snakes that rely on communal dens to overwinter. I agree they've been fine all along and neither have perished so it's not terribly serious (it doesn't sound like the best situation), except for the possibly unwanted mouths to feed assuming the clutch is viable.