Do you HAVE to cool a Diamond each year ?

[darkness]

Just got a new yearling diamond and was told by the guy that I bought him from that for the snakes health I must let him hibernate every year.

Is this true ? as im sure ive read that it doesnt really make any diff.

Ive never cooled my coastal or jungle and they seem perfectly fine wih it.

I know you have to if you plan to breed them, but im a long way from trying that

Also do you think it would be ok to put a diamond and jungle together in the same enclosure ? They are nearly the same size & age.. but I wasnt sure if it would be wise seeing how the jungle is female ? so thought Id ask about that before doing it.

Thanks for any info.
Cheers.

[basketcase]

keep them separate and cool the diamond regardless of breeding.

[soulweaver]

exactly what basketcase said, don't keep the snakes together. cool the diamond.

[Morelia_Hunter]

Yes!!!

[tweety2]

i am curious, i have a diamond but wasnt told to cool him down, may i ask why its so important to cool a diamond???

[Gerry]

well it does get pretty cold in their natural habitat over winter

[Slateman]

Specially Diamonds do better if they get cold temperature during the winter. I keep mine outside and not heating at all.

[basketcase]

it hasnt been proven, but not allowing diamonds an appropriate cooling period during winter is probably a major cause of diamond python syndrome.

lack of utlra violet light may factor into the cause, although i doubt it.

[munkee]

I think the best is to mimic their natural ranges temperatures. If they get cool over winter do likewise. Snakes from the far north of QLD less need to cool them. etc etc.

[soulweaver]

according to Doc Rock it has been proven. He sent a few diamond samples around the world to experts in different fields to determine what D.P.S is, and according to the results diamonds that are not properly cooled have a break down to their immune system. It is a hormone thing, or something along those lines.

[darkness]

Ahh ok..

Well whats the best way to cool them ? I keep all my pythons in the lounge room and thats heated in winter..

So should I get some sort of small outdoor enclosure and put the diamond in there for winter ? and pretty much dont touch him for 3 months ?

Is it safe to just put him in there, or should I slowly cool him inside before I do that ?

[soulweaver]

i can say that you should always cool any python down slowly, or any snake for that matter. Just limits the possibilty of getting things like resportory tract infection for example.

As to what is best for you i can't really answer as i live in vic and the temps are different all year round. Try and find someone that keeps diamonds in qld and see what they do. We like to aim for about 14 degrees with our diamonds during cooling.

[serpenttongue]

Darkness, it is very important that you not only cool down a diamond during winter but also give it cool nights throughout the year. Too many people keep diamonds warm day and night throughout the year and this leads to the animals death, eventually. Its very taxing on their internal organs. Some diamond keepers disagree with this and when i ask them how long they've been keeping diamonds they say something like "Oh, 2 or 3 years". Well as far as i'm concerned keeping diamonds for 2/3 years IS NOT keeping diamonds. I tell them to get back to me when they've kept them for 10 years. Those that have kept diamonds successfully for a decade or more will agree that diamonds must be properly cycled.

Of course you can always get away with not cooling them(especially when they're young) during any given winter and not notice any negative effects with them, but do this often enough and a diamond WILL suffer.

Because it is a yearling i would cool it down inside to keep a better eye on it. Drop temps slightly over a week or so and allow the snake to defaecate and then lower temps again. 24 degrees during the day down to about 13-14 at night. Your diamond will definately benefit from this and come out of winter with a huge appetite.

I also would keep the diamond away from other snakes. Jungles and coastals dont need temps lowered as much as diamonds do. As hardy as diamonds are, they are a bit more delicate when it comes to temps and a jungle or coastal will NEVER be a diamond, or vice versa.

[africancichlidau]

You do NOT HAVE to cool a diamond, you can let it die young instead!

[darkness]

Originally Posted by serpenttongue

Darkness, it is very important that you not only cool down a diamond during winter but also give it cool nights throughout the year. Too many people keep diamonds warm day and night throughout the year and this leads to the animals death, eventually. Its very taxing on their internal organs. Some diamond keepers disagree with this and when i ask them how long they've been keeping diamonds they say something like "Oh, 2 or 3 years". Well as far as i'm concerned keeping diamonds for 2/3 years IS NOT keeping diamonds. I tell them to get back to me when they've kept them for 10 years. Those that have kept diamonds successfully for a decade or more will agree that diamonds must be properly cycled.

Of course you can always get away with not cooling them(especially when they're young) during any given winter and not notice any negative effects with them, but do this often enough and a diamond WILL suffer.

Because it is a yearling i would cool it down inside to keep a better eye on it. Drop temps slightly over a week or so and allow the snake to defaecate and then lower temps again. 24 degrees during the day down to about 13-14 at night. Your diamond will definately benefit from this and come out of winter with a huge appetite.

I also would keep the diamond away from other snakes. Jungles and coastals dont need temps lowered as much as diamonds do. As hardy as diamonds are, they are a bit more delicate when it comes to temps and a jungle or coastal will NEVER be a diamond, or vice versa.

Thanks mate, that explains it perfectly.. guess Ill hook up a timer to the enclosure so the heat lamp goes off at night from now on..

Also when should you cool them ? from what month to what month ?

Thanks to everyone for the info ! (the intelligent info at least)

Cheers.