Pregnant ball python?

Question

First off I am absolutely confused now lol, when I got my first ball python the owner said it was a male, then the male got lost and wasn't found for 6 months during which I got another python that they said was a female and was bought from petco,then out of no where my "male" python showed up. now 3 days ago I fed them and the female(sasha) ate and my male(satch) didn't. so I figured he wasn't hungry and tried again the next day and no luck, when I tried today and still didn't eat I picked him up and noticed his belly felt like he had just eaten, which he hadn't and then I noticed his tail was very thin but was fat a lil ways up, I know there was a website that had detailed pictures on pythons breeding but I cant find it, but the problem is I was absolutely sure that satch was a male and sasha was a female, and I am sure shes a female because they got her from petco. but it seems that my male is pregnant. I know which is which because satch was a very light color and sasha was very dark, now unless they switched colors, I am stumped. If anyone knows the website that had the detailed pictures of a python laying eggs please post.

Answer 1

ok take satch and hold him by its upper neck with support. starting at the stomach, apply little pressure and run your thumb all the down its belly. if you feel lumps or bumps, like about 5 or so, then it has eggs. there is no telling a female from a male by just looking at them. sometimes you can tell but its not certain. popping or probing is the best way. popping shouldnt be done on a possibly gravid (pregnant) snake though. so just do what i told you and see if there are eggs. if not, try a herp vet. they specialize in reptiles and most are inexpensive. continue to try and feed satch until you start to actually see lumps. when females are gravid they refuse meals. look to see if your female is ever basking with her belly up. thats a sign too.

here are some pictures of gravid ball pythons.

http://www.ballpython.ca/images/breeding...

http://www.ballpython.ca/images/breeding...

http://www.ballpython.ca/images/breeding...

good luck!

Answer 2

*EDIT*

Good lookin snakes! The lighter colored one appears female, and the darker appears male, due to tail length and the size difference. This is just an educated guess from my experience, only a vet could be sure. So if the lighter colored one is that feels like it may be pregnant, you may want to do some research just in case.

*/EDIT*

Can you post a decent picture of them side-by-side and NOT tell which is which? I'm pretty good at identifying male vs female ball pythons, I can tell you which looks male and which looks female.

Of course, you should take him to a vet, to check for pregnancy, check gender, and since he was gone to be sure he's still healthy.