My experiences with DPS

[Shadowmist]

Excellent document. Concise and t the point. Certainly something that should be imade as a Sticky thread on the hints/help list

[Vala]

So how is DPS prevented?

Great thread BTW, extremely useful

[Shadowmist]

I wonder if Vala has a point. For those people who have kept Diamonds for some time, and have not experienced any DPS, What are they doing.

Perhaps there is a common thread that might tie all these snakes that have not been affected (yet). One of the main problem that I see is that this seems to be a slow onset. The ‘damage’ may have been done months or years ago, and only now it becomes apparent.

A question to those who like to keep records on the snakes climate. Does anyone record and keep temperature logs, etc?

[jamey]

Thanks ST.Very informative.Great of someone with your experience with diamonds to give a firsthand account of this problem.A little disheartining to hear it happening to animals kept outside in natural diamond habitat,and so close to natural conditions.
Jamey

[scout]

I purchased a 4yr old diamond as my first snake a few years ago. now I dont know if the seller knew it had DPS or not, but 6mths after purchasing it, it stopped feeding properly. Another 6mths of fusssing with feeds and she stopped feedin all together. After a lot of angst i took her to the vet. I was so shocked to see her xray. Most of her ribs were broken, there were a lot of her ribs gone,where they had broken over time and been re-absorbed into her body. The poor thing was breaking bones every time we fed or handled her. I did the best thing for her and ended her suffering. This distressed me so much that i took my carpet to be checked as well, a 2yr old purchased from the same person. I wasnt prepared for the findings, he too was suffering the same thing, though he had no broken or missing bones the xray showed the softening of the bones. I gave him a good fighting chance by injecting all his feed with calcium, but because snakes metabolism is so slow it never improved. After 12mths of vet bills he finally stopped feeding right. So I had to end it for him as well. Now the vet wouldnt say my carpet caught it off my diamond, but IMO there has to be a link there somewhere. they were different ages and breeders(so I was told) and different sub species. The only link was being housed together. I was very diligent with hygene and husbandry measures consulting with the vet with all aspects.
I now make sure I only purchase of reputable breeders, and i get all my snakes xrayed after purchasing. I may be paranoid but the ending of a pets life is too hard. All my animals from feeding rats and mice to my dog and horses get the best of feed and care.

[Joshua VW]

Well there goes my dream of owning a Diamond Python.
Although people say that they get sunlight for their snakes, does anyone also use a UV as an extra just in case sort of thing?
I don't know anything about DPS so I could be all wrong but if you give a UV light and sunlight and extra calcium stuff in the rats and you give them a big cage and lots of cool and cold spots do you think they would make it?
Has anyone had a Diamond that didn't get DPS? Ifso, what did you do?

[Vala]

My diamonds both have UV lights and both get unfiltered natural sunlight. I also have this 'reptical' thing i've been thinking of putting on the mice, but I don't know if i should.
Not ALL diamonds get DPS though. To my knowledge it isn't extremely common. But I'm not sure how to exactly prevent it though

[zard]

alot of fantastic and interesting info there, thankyou!

i wonder if when housing diamonds outside whether allowing a thick vine to cover the top of the enclosure (re the colorbond holding heat) or growing dense trees and having a canopy over the enclosure therefore giving more of a rainforest speckled light type scenerio would lower temps sufficiently while still allowing natural sunlight.

[Vala]

I have this ReptiCal stuff I used to dust crickets with when I had beardies. Does anyone know if that can be used to dust on rats or something for diamonds?

[Helikaon]

Originally Posted by Vala

I have this ReptiCal stuff I used to dust crickets with when I had beardies. Does anyone know if that can be used to dust on rats or something for diamonds?

i doutb it has anythign to do with the amount of calcium that is being absorbed i rather think that it is an over production of certain genetic strustures whihc produce enzymes capable of breaking down the bone matrix technically it is like a cancer but not replication of cells rather enzymes. and in a reptile there is a good chance that this would become a chronic issue as enzymes work on optimal temps therfore over heating may increase the likely hood of this, i know that most cases of thsi in humans are treated with an artificial inhibitor, the only flaw in this theory is that it would mean it was genetic, and i would assume would be seen in a lot more cases.


lets say that it may be an overproduction of the same enzyme that allows your lizard to extract calcium from its bones when the blood calcium level becoem low. but instead of being in control in these snakes it is out of control. hence while cooling would slow it down

could very well be hormonal as well. seems liek we are lacking much needed research

[dailyskin]

I'm sorry to revive such an old thread, but I was directed to it by JessB, and ST's observations are so invaluable!

I am dreaming of owning a Diamond, and rather than putting me off, this thread has made me more determined to get one.

I have spent the morning taking notes, hoping to design the perfect outdoor enclosure one day (will spend a year or so researching). I like the idea or a vine/climber covering over the top and 'hot afternoon' side of the avairy, to allow for insulation but a little natural dappled sunlight.

Would I be correct in saying:
If I provide an outdoor enclosure, with natural sunlight until noon, a warm spot (maybe heat pad) during the mornings in winter, and cool nights (in summer, perhaps assisted by a fan or even old-fashioned 'water-drip meat safe/fridge' type system), plus cool refuges during the day in summer, I would be going pretty well?

[serpenttongue]

Dailyskin, what you need is an enclosure that gets sun from sunrise until about 12pm. Then the enclosure should be in the shade for the rest of the day. The diamonds will bask for an hour or so each morning and then move off to a cool area and coil tightly to conserve body heat. They usually dont need heating again until the following morning, so afternoon heat isn't absolutely necessary. However, if they are gravid or have had a big feed they will take advantage of afternoon heat. The enclosure should have solid sides that will act as windbreaks and a wire roof to prevent a build-up of heat. It is an excellent idea to have a vine-like plant growing over the roof to keep things cool inside. Hide boxes should be insulated with styrofoam sheets and it may be wise to dig a hole into the ground to create an underground hide where temps will be cooler.

Perhaps you can build an avairy on wheels so you can just wheel them into the sun in the morning and then wheel them into a shaded, cool area for the rest of the day.

[dailyskin]

THe only thing I'm worried about, I guess, are the odd REALLY hot days and nights (eg yesterday was 42, last night's low was 27) we get sometimes -
I'm thinking I could bring him inside if need be, or what do you think about the idea of creating a sort of Coolgardie Safe ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolgardie_safe ) to keep the hides cool? Would that sort of work like their natural rainforrest?

[jessb]

Most wild Diamonds would be exposed to those sort of temps occasionally anyway wouldn't they? I know the temps we get here on the Northern Beaches (loads of wild Diamonds) get to those extremes for a couple of days during the hottest part of the summer. If they can cope in the wild, I imagine they wold be fine as long as they have access to cool areas.

Just my (very) uninformed opinion!

[Evoker]

Thanx for the great text! Greetings from Poland!