Scabs on shed? And is my girl a boy?

[albertagirl]

So my 2 year old female shed recently, and on her shed were these two red spots at the vent. I've never seen this before on any of my snakes' sheds. I looked her over and she looks just fine. I tried to search on the forum for what it could be but the only thing I found (so far) was a mention that Nancy made about hemipenes causing little red bits on a shed. I've included pictures of the vent section of the shed, showing what I'm talking about. The "scabs" point towards the tail of the shed.

Question 1. Can anyone tell me what these are?
Question 2. Do females sometimes have these marks as well? Or is my girl possibly/definitely a boy?

 

[albertagirl]

Just found an almost identical picture on another forum stating that these are only found on males. The explanation of exactly what they are was unclear, hemipenes and sperm plug both being suggested.

 

[albertagirl]

Further reading causes further confusion. 2 out of 3 posts, found on 3 different forums, state these are only found on males. The 3rd (a post on this forum from 10 years ago) states it could still be a female. I'll suspend further reading to hear your opinions.

 

[Tavia]

They look like hemipene shed to me. "Sperm plugs" are actually a build up of retained hemi sheds that come out with a shed once they've built up and are not actually real sperm plugs, according to one recent article I read on a GTP forum. The hemipenes shed along with the rest of the snake but often don't come out attached to the shed, since they are tucked up inside.
99.9% of all sheds I've seen like that were from a male but I suppose it might be from a female, maybe from her scent glands? Don't really know about that though.

 

[axis1]

Hi Albertagirl!

Not sure, but I did notice that my female snake had some significant bleeding last month when she mated with both of my adult male snakes; I was actually concerned because there was a big spot on the substrate also afterwards! Just wondering if the shed after mating when blood is involved, if some might not get under the scales of both male & female and maybe make some type of stain sometimes?

I didn't notice any stains on the male snakes' skins who both shed recently but will now be keeping an eye on the female as I'm waiting for her pre-lay shed. When I checked her out recently though, her underside is as white as Caribbean sand from snout-to-tail!

Wish I could be more helpful.

 

[albertagirl]

It actually matters not one bit, since she/he's just a pet, no breeding plans here, but I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around this. My girl might be a boy! Well, at least her name is pretty non-gender-specific. This is Relic my cinder in question. My oh my, well that is some news to process for today!

Thanks for your input Tavia.
Axis1, Relic has not had access to the other snakes, so it's definitely not related to breeding antics.
If anyone else has an opinion, I'd love to hear it. I guess I better not let her hang out with the other girls anymore though!

I want to take a picture of her tail next to Raven, who is the same size as her and also supposedly female, but I don't think I'll be able to hold both tails together and operate a camera at the same time, so that will have to wait until I have some assistance. I tried to take pictures of just her tail today, and barely managed that.

 

[Dragonling]

Hi Albertagirl!

Not sure, but I did notice that my female snake had some significant bleeding last month when she mated with both of my adult male snakes; I was actually concerned because there was a big spot on the substrate also afterwards! Just wondering if the shed after mating when blood is involved, if some might not get under the scales of both male & female and maybe make some type of stain sometimes?

I didn't notice any stains on the male snakes' skins who both shed recently but will now be keeping an eye on the female as I'm waiting for her pre-lay shed. When I checked her out recently though, her underside is as white as Caribbean sand from snout-to-tail!

Wish I could be more helpful.

It's more likely the blood came from the male, something that happens from time to time.

I have noticed more of a reddish protrusion on male sheds than female, even though most have at one point or another had some small amount of blood. From top to bottom: London (F), Foxtrot (M), Sierra (F)

 

[Nanci]

I'd bet on male. Females do have little pockets down there in the same area, though.

I've received three miss-sexed females over the years, all from "big name" breeders.

 

[albertagirl]

It's more likely the blood came from the male, something that happens from time to time.

I have noticed more of a reddish protrusion on male sheds than female, even though most have at one point or another had some small amount of blood. From top to bottom: London (F), Foxtrot (M), Sierra (F)

These are very interesting. Thanks for posting these pictures! I don't keep my sheds, so now I have to wait for a new shed to do any comparisons. I will be inspecting them closely for a while now! LOL

I'd bet on male. Females do have little pockets down there in the same area, though.

I've received three miss-sexed females over the years, all from "big name" breeders.

Thanks for adding your thoughts Nanci.

Well, I guess nobody is arguing for female, and we've had a few votes for male now, as well as all my research suggests this *most likely* indicates she has boy parts... so... I will officially have to start calling her a him!

 

[albertagirl]

Another one?!?!

Raven shed last night. Her sheds are always much anticipated, being my only really brightly colored snake. But do you ever get the feeling the universe is having a bit of a laugh at your expense? :eek1:



So... Raven might also be a boy?????????
Her name is actually Rave'n'Riot, so I guess I'll be calling her Rave from now on. Or maybe Riot. I haven't decided yet which sounds manlier.

Seriously though, what are the chances that 2 of my 3 girls both turn out to be boys in one month? This is so weird.