Hi, I've been trying to figure out what a sperm plug looks like from a male ball python. I posted a thread a few days ago of my male bp's poop with this large white worm looking thing laying on top of it at the end of the last of the poop. It looks like a human tape worm. A lot of the responses think that it is not a parasite, but a
sperm plug. I've been doing lots of reading about sperm plugs and reading statements like "...my male's been leaving sperm plugs all over his cage...", "...I know my male is producing plugs...", "...he's producing plugs like crazy...." etc. etc. etc.....I need to see another picture to know what they look like so that I can identify what is in my snake's poo. It was not embedded "IN" the poo, it was laying on top and came out with the last "pinch" of poo as they say. I am pretty sure that it is a sperm plug. You can have a look at the pics on the thread titled,
"Is this an internal parasite?" . The pictures are pretty clear and easy to see the white "thing". If anyone has any info page for me to see about sperm plug pictures, or if you can identify that this is indeed a sperm plug, please let me know. I've been searching like mad and I get lots of statements about the males producing plugs, but never a pictrue of one. I do know that a sperm plug is just coagulated sperm that comes out with the feces if it is not used up or expelled prior to defication. I"ve got a vet appointment in a week to have a good vet look at the specimen and also have a good look at my snake. He's losing weight and is refusing to eat. I introduced him to my female on November 20 and have had them together twice since then. Since I introduced him to the girl, he's refusing to eat, has pooped a nice, normal moist poop with some urate chunks (I've read repeatedly that internal parasites cause loose watery stools). I've offered him every kind of frozen, live, warmed, tastey mice you could imagine, and so I know it's not lack of nutritional options here. Any suggestions? He's lost 40g since his last feed on Nov. 20th, but I think that was the equivalent of the poop. He is seriously underweight anyways. Since I bought him 8 months ago, he has not gained one gram. He weighs exactly the same and I have more than tripled his diet. The people who owned him prior to me were feeding him one small mouse every two weeks (two small mice per month). I upped his diet at my vet's advice to three mice per week. He took them no problem. All he's done is grow in length and girl, not in weight. He weighs almost exactly as the day we bought him. and he looks the same in pictures when you compare him now to 8 months ago. Long and skinny!!!!! Here's some pics of him.[[
SIZE=2]COLOR=Purple] Does he look unhealthy? [/color] [/size]
8 MONTHS LATER, SAME WEIGHT, 3 INCHES LONGER, 1/2 INCH ROUNDER. LOOKS SKINNIER!!
Just in case you want to know......here's the mystery friend in my snake's poo.