I just did spot cleaning in the drawer while a pair of ball python was in the middle of mating inside, the girl got scared by my hand and suddenly left the boy’s body.
It is the first time I interrupt ball python mating and regret a lot. Don’t want to hurt any one of them.
Will anything bad happen due to this?
They should be okay. I try to get the spot cleaning done before or after pairing, not during. I usually only leave the male in for 48 hours so it never gets messy enough to cause issues.
The thing I would definitely keep an eye on is the vent area for both of them, particularly the male. Most likely, the female should be fine unless the male was quite a bit larger. The male could have injured his hemipene, so you’ll want to keep an eye out for any swelling in the vent area or eversion/prolapse.
Thank you！
Now the boy and the girl are not mating but still staying together. If the boy was really hurt, will I still see that part swelling after 1 or 2 days?
I would keep an eye on it for a few days, just in case.
Normally speaking, would the boy show his pain like struggling around if his private part was really hurt?
The boy was quite calm and didn’t move while the girl left his body at that second. So his private part might be OK right?
Reptiles are very stoic and shy. They don’t like potential predators to know if they’re injured so they generally try not to show it.
It may be okay. It may not. Your job is to monitor them and make sure they’re healthy.
I would separate them and check in on him for a couple of days.
Personally I haven’t had this happen as I leave them alone while they’re breeding, but I have treated reptiles with prolapses before. Sometimes they occur outside of breeding as well. It’s just good practice to be aware and monitor for situations that can possibly have caused harm.
I would definitely keep a close eye. Males CAN be injured during mating, but it could be internal damage that you can’t see. It doesn’t happen often, but I had a male die from a breeding injury earlier this year. Check him daily, and personally, I would separate them so that he’s not trying to lock with the female again. If you notice his behavior change significantly (becoming more aggressive or defenses, if he stops eating, if he starts losing weight, etc.) then I would make an appointment with a local exotics vet. You can also use a diluted betadine/water solution to gently clean the area to prevent infection if he is in fact injured. But he could very well be fine.
I don’t spot clean during pairing only for the fact in nature animals will urinate etc before engaging in coitus, i noticed this 3 years back on my first pairing after i clean i pair and theres always someone laying a fresh one right after,(pairing or not) folks know what i mean, but almost 100 percent of the time theres at least one calcium nugget n urine if not 2 during pairing sessions almost like us lighting candles setting the vibes, idk but i always feared spooking my animals so i always open tubs in slow mo but especially pairing. One trick i use from working doing plumbing, you see apprentices trying to stuff their head in most crazy small places I show them to use the phone camera. So if im concered about spookin I’ll just crack tub turn on video and slide her down see whats happening. I started that with pairings that were getting fiesty with each other cuz i wasn’t sure if everything was cool. Turns out some bps like it rough i guess 