Hi all,
this is my first post here (sorry, it got quite long, but I wanted to provide sufficient information) but I have been following the forum over the last year or so.
I live in Melbourne's inner north and keep a diamond python and a Murray Darling python together in an aviary-style enclosure outdoors over the warmer half of the year. So someone called DELWP and complained about snakes in my backyard. They inspected my animals and came up with a few comments that I found confusing, so I wanted to ask for your opinion. I do have the appropriate licence.
I attached a photo of the enclosure. It is 150Wx60Dx180H (in cm), has several hide boxes including one with a heat cable (during summer the heat cable is only used on cold days), it gets sun from 9am to 4pm but there is also enough shade and a water bucket to cool down if needed. The snakes look ''happy'' and healthy to me, i.e. they eat and sh*** well, shed in one piece, usually bask in the morning and then retreat to their shady hides when they are warm enough, climb around etc. I am aware that they are not native to Melbourne area but I consciously selected (sub-)species that are native to northern Victoria, so that the temperature difference is not too much. The microclimate in my backyard is also favourable in that it gets a lot of sun, it is wind protected, there is a lot of concrete around that retains heat. I asked different people and read a threat on this forum and it looks like I am not the only one who keeps diamonds outdoors in Melbourne.
Now that guy from DELWP complained that the snakes are exposed to temperatures and moisture that are beyond what they can tolerate. He told me that diamond pythons need access to 25C-28C and that they could get sick in my enclosure, that I should think about the climate in their native range (which I had done). Most days with a little sun they can quickly heat up but of course it depends on the weather. I mean, it rains in NSW too, doesn't it? Of course a bit of spray can get through the mesh but I doubt any rain gets into the hide boxes, so they can always stay dry if they want to. As I said they have a heated hide-box, and the whole enclosure is on wheels so that I can move it indoors in winter. I mentioned to him that they didn't eat over winter, which he said is a sign that I kept them too cold. Isn't it natural for them to go off food during winter? Especially with diamond pythons, I thought that constantly high temperatures are much worse than if it gets cool, isn't it? I lived in Newcastle for 4 months, so I know for a fact it's not always 25C and sunny there. We once found a wild diamond python on a cool day in a shady forest, no way was its body temperature over 20C (we were wearing jumpers).
We also keep a blue tongue lizard outdoors and that DELWP guy complained about the enclosure size. I measured it and it has 140cm x 60cm area. Isn't that reasonable?
They mentioned they might come again in a few months to check how my animals are doing. I don't really know what to expect and am somewhat anxious. Do you have any suggestions of what I might improve? Or any experience in dealing with these people? Of course I want the best for my animals, so any experiences (good or bad) in a similar setup would be appreciated.
Many thanks.
this is my first post here (sorry, it got quite long, but I wanted to provide sufficient information) but I have been following the forum over the last year or so.
I live in Melbourne's inner north and keep a diamond python and a Murray Darling python together in an aviary-style enclosure outdoors over the warmer half of the year. So someone called DELWP and complained about snakes in my backyard. They inspected my animals and came up with a few comments that I found confusing, so I wanted to ask for your opinion. I do have the appropriate licence.
I attached a photo of the enclosure. It is 150Wx60Dx180H (in cm), has several hide boxes including one with a heat cable (during summer the heat cable is only used on cold days), it gets sun from 9am to 4pm but there is also enough shade and a water bucket to cool down if needed. The snakes look ''happy'' and healthy to me, i.e. they eat and sh*** well, shed in one piece, usually bask in the morning and then retreat to their shady hides when they are warm enough, climb around etc. I am aware that they are not native to Melbourne area but I consciously selected (sub-)species that are native to northern Victoria, so that the temperature difference is not too much. The microclimate in my backyard is also favourable in that it gets a lot of sun, it is wind protected, there is a lot of concrete around that retains heat. I asked different people and read a threat on this forum and it looks like I am not the only one who keeps diamonds outdoors in Melbourne.
Now that guy from DELWP complained that the snakes are exposed to temperatures and moisture that are beyond what they can tolerate. He told me that diamond pythons need access to 25C-28C and that they could get sick in my enclosure, that I should think about the climate in their native range (which I had done). Most days with a little sun they can quickly heat up but of course it depends on the weather. I mean, it rains in NSW too, doesn't it? Of course a bit of spray can get through the mesh but I doubt any rain gets into the hide boxes, so they can always stay dry if they want to. As I said they have a heated hide-box, and the whole enclosure is on wheels so that I can move it indoors in winter. I mentioned to him that they didn't eat over winter, which he said is a sign that I kept them too cold. Isn't it natural for them to go off food during winter? Especially with diamond pythons, I thought that constantly high temperatures are much worse than if it gets cool, isn't it? I lived in Newcastle for 4 months, so I know for a fact it's not always 25C and sunny there. We once found a wild diamond python on a cool day in a shady forest, no way was its body temperature over 20C (we were wearing jumpers).
We also keep a blue tongue lizard outdoors and that DELWP guy complained about the enclosure size. I measured it and it has 140cm x 60cm area. Isn't that reasonable?
They mentioned they might come again in a few months to check how my animals are doing. I don't really know what to expect and am somewhat anxious. Do you have any suggestions of what I might improve? Or any experience in dealing with these people? Of course I want the best for my animals, so any experiences (good or bad) in a similar setup would be appreciated.
Many thanks.