Help, accidentally unlocked my ball pythons.

I was checking on my ball pythons, who are currently courting. I noticed one had defecated, so I checked their positions (seeing if they were locked) so I could remove them, and the carpeting, to clean it. Their heads were at separate ends of the tank, but their tails were hidden behind plant leaves. I assumed (I know, never assume) they weren't locked up, much to my surprise when I removed the male, he was exposed. Have I done any damage to either of them that I should worry about? It wasn't a "rough separation" as I always remove them slowly, even when alone (bc lets be honest, I can be a bit clumsy and never want to accidentally bump them on the way out!). I felt no "hesitation" when removing him, nothing that would of felt "not quite right", everything felt same as always. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

if your boy pulled everything back inside....and the females vent looks normal...you should be good =) just keep an eye for any swelling over the next day....but I wouldn't worry. Most likely the male was not actually locked, just attempting to or just got done doing the deed. Males will let their freak flags fly before or after sometimes lol

Haha, good to know. Thanks Willow! He retracted everything fine, afterwards everyone looked normal, nothing out of place. But I will definitely keep an eye out for anything unusual. I'm not usually one to panic, had it been a set of cats or dogs, I'd of been fine. In school they only touched base on reptiles, this was definitely not one of those bases!

I've become addicted to these forums. So glad I registered when I did, though I didn't think I'd need to post for help in the near future!

If you're going to breed you've got to learn to live with their messes, females almost always evacuate before allowing the male to do the deed.
The tank can be cleaned after they are clearly done "loving" each other...
They do have their own homes?

" I've become addicted to these forums. So glad I registered when I did, though I didn't think I'd need to post for help in the near future!"



I also think these forums are great to call on. Members here have really helped me in times of need, often all you need is a reassuring word like this....

They both have separate homes. They spend 3 days together, 3 days separate. I get a little uppity with cleaning the tanks because I've read other things about scale rot, and other things, from leaving it in the tanks. Like I said prior I thought they were done "loving" lol, being as most of them were at opposite sides of the tank. The plant leaves however were my enemy in this situation.

Helen it really is reassuring. My husband teases me that I worry too much about the snakes, except they aren't anywhere near as easy to read as my dog and cats, so I do panic a bit easier. Maybe one day I'll quit (probably not though!)