B
Bluetongue1
Guest
Sorry,
Read this thread earlier but did not have internet connection. Nevertheless, there should be some useful information here for you. No more excuses Allies_snakes – time to get yourself up to speed on male anatomy, well, male snakes at least, the reptilian kind..LOL. This should help a little bit….
I would happily bet money on them being sperm plugs. These occur where the hemipenes fill up with seminal fluid over time and are not emptied. The normally fairly fluid mixture dries out and becomes viscous and then gelatinous and ultimately can go hard, beginning with the end opening into the cloaca. The yellowish colour indicates that these plugs have dried out considerably and then been rehydrated. As Colin and co pointed out, having one each side is supportive of this diagnosis. If they were expelled by pressure applied behind the vent, this would further support that call, although sufficient pressure applied to the cloaca could produce enough intra-coelomic pressure to release them. The length of the plugs compared to the shed skin scales would indicate they are quite long and the ends have probably been protruding into the cloaca.
I must point out that I have no personal experience with sperm plugs, as was asked for, only the research I have done and the photos I have looked at from the net (including forums).
I do have personal experience with looking at various types of worms. I can assure you that these are not worms. Being unsegmented and round they would have to belong to the Aschelminthes group. Given their overall structure they could only be Class Nematoda. No nematode I am aware of has the ends of it look like that.
Experience?
Use of the term “experience”, although not exactly what the OP used, is fraught with problems. Em, with little experience, made a correct call straight up. Watterrat, with a massive amount of experience behind him was not comfortable to make a call on what was provided. Does that mean one was right and the other wrong? Does it mean “experience”does not count? It is one of those words which has multiple meaning for a start and invariably references to a general situation rather than specific. So when we use it we need to define it. When used in the broad context of reptile husbandry, unless we are specific about what we mean, then I believe it is a word best omitted from our vocabulary. Watterat made an extremely important point in that “guessing, assuming and "I think" is not much of a help”. It doesn't matter how much "experience" you have if you are doing this. I believe what we all should aim to do is to contribute within the limits of our knowledge and understanding. That way the length of time you have been keeping, the number of animals you possess, the number of posts you have made or any other such criteria are no longer relevant and you will be making a positive contribution many more times than not.
Blue
Read this thread earlier but did not have internet connection. Nevertheless, there should be some useful information here for you. No more excuses Allies_snakes – time to get yourself up to speed on male anatomy, well, male snakes at least, the reptilian kind..LOL. This should help a little bit….
I would happily bet money on them being sperm plugs. These occur where the hemipenes fill up with seminal fluid over time and are not emptied. The normally fairly fluid mixture dries out and becomes viscous and then gelatinous and ultimately can go hard, beginning with the end opening into the cloaca. The yellowish colour indicates that these plugs have dried out considerably and then been rehydrated. As Colin and co pointed out, having one each side is supportive of this diagnosis. If they were expelled by pressure applied behind the vent, this would further support that call, although sufficient pressure applied to the cloaca could produce enough intra-coelomic pressure to release them. The length of the plugs compared to the shed skin scales would indicate they are quite long and the ends have probably been protruding into the cloaca.
I must point out that I have no personal experience with sperm plugs, as was asked for, only the research I have done and the photos I have looked at from the net (including forums).
I do have personal experience with looking at various types of worms. I can assure you that these are not worms. Being unsegmented and round they would have to belong to the Aschelminthes group. Given their overall structure they could only be Class Nematoda. No nematode I am aware of has the ends of it look like that.
Experience?
Use of the term “experience”, although not exactly what the OP used, is fraught with problems. Em, with little experience, made a correct call straight up. Watterrat, with a massive amount of experience behind him was not comfortable to make a call on what was provided. Does that mean one was right and the other wrong? Does it mean “experience”does not count? It is one of those words which has multiple meaning for a start and invariably references to a general situation rather than specific. So when we use it we need to define it. When used in the broad context of reptile husbandry, unless we are specific about what we mean, then I believe it is a word best omitted from our vocabulary. Watterat made an extremely important point in that “guessing, assuming and "I think" is not much of a help”. It doesn't matter how much "experience" you have if you are doing this. I believe what we all should aim to do is to contribute within the limits of our knowledge and understanding. That way the length of time you have been keeping, the number of animals you possess, the number of posts you have made or any other such criteria are no longer relevant and you will be making a positive contribution many more times than not.
Blue
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