Sperm retention

Is it possible a female holds(can hold) sperm for the next season ?
If so , is it possible she gets babies from the old sperm and also from a new male ?
I did once ( or twice) a breeding from 1 female with 2 different males and I mean to remember that both were present in the offspring , not quite sure about that anymore .

I have had a female to keep sperm all winter through 45-55 degree brumation. So yes it can happen. I didn't bred her in the spring and that is how I know it can happen.
As to keeping and using new. I am guessing that can happen to.

I don't remember the whole article, but read something on garters recently about a study someone did. They found that in the spring when the snakes emerge from the den & form huge mating balls, sometimes the younger/weaker males manage to get lucky & lock up with a female. But once they have dispersed & the female has a chance to choose which male gets her, she is capable of choosing which sperm is used, either from the first male or that from any subsequent male.

A female can retain sperm from the previous year. That sperm and any sperm from subsequent breedings with other males can fertilize the eggs. It makes for very interesting, and confusing, results when the eggs hatch. Some breeders have specifically bred a female with 2 different males, matching the genes up in just the right way so that the father of each offspring can easily be identified.

Originally Posted by Susan

A female can retain sperm from the previous year. That sperm and any sperm from subsequent breedings with other males can fertilize the eggs. It makes for very interesting, and confusing, results when the eggs hatch. Some breeders have specifically bred a female with 2 different males, matching the genes up in just the right way so that the father of each offspring can easily be identified.

When this happens with a testbreeding on startgazing , there will be made hets SG without knowing the next year .

We are thinking Bella retained sperm. She got bigger, got attitude, looked completely gravid..even did 2 sheds and stayed in her lay box for a month but never laid eggs. So she either had a false pregnancy, absorbed the eggs or retained the sperm...we hope so!

Originally Posted by mvervest

When this happens with a testbreeding on startgazing , there will be made hets SG without knowing the next year .

It is possible to have retained sperm from such a test breeding to gum up the works the next year. However, you really need to look at the odds of it happening. If you are concerned about unknowingly producing het stargazers as a result of retained sperm, then simply breed the female to a male that will guarantee to produce offspring that can phenotypically identified as being his and his alone, with anything else being the result of retained sperm. For example, you are testing a Sunkissed female for stargazer so breed her to a Sunkissed stargazer male which will produce all Sunkissed offspring. Once you determine she is not a stargazer carrier, the next year, breed her to anything that is not even het Sunkissed so if any Sunkissed offspring turn up, they must be from retained sperm and are het stargazer.

Originally Posted by Susan

It is possible to have retained sperm from such a test breeding to gum up the works the next year. However, you really need to look at the odds of it happening. If you are concerned about unknowingly producing het stargazers as a result of retained sperm, then simply breed the female to a male that will guarantee to produce offspring that can phenotypically identified as being his and his alone, with anything else being the result of retained sperm. For example, you are testing a Sunkissed female for stargazer so breed her to a Sunkissed stargazer male which will produce all Sunkissed offspring. Once you determine she is not a stargazer carrier, the next year, breed her to anything that is not even het Sunkissed so if any Sunkissed offspring turn up, they must be from retained sperm and are het stargazer.

That makes sense , thanks