another diamond question

[Chris1]

i have a 4 year oldish female diamond i picked up a couple of weeks ago, shes my only diamond, so its not like she will be breeding.
my question is is it necessary to cool her over winter to make her less likely to get diamond python syndrome, and how long should she be cooled for.

its only for health reasons (well, DPS) , not breeding.

i've never cooled a snake before, she wasnt heated for 18 months before i got her so she was regurgitating all her food for that long. (i've never seen such a skinny snake,..!!)
i've been feeding her twice a week and heating her (basking spot of about 30) since i had her and shes gained a nice amount of weight, the point of which was so i could cool her over winter.

so after all that rambling the 2 questions are is it necessary and how long is the recommended cooling time fr a diamond.

she will be moving into an outdoor enclosure at the end of the year when we move house, i didnt want to expose her to the elements in the condition in which i got her,...

thanks, Chris.

 

[Mayhem]

Just on the DPS topic, and I havent kept Diamonds or experienced DPS personally so this is just a pie in the sky idea and I'm sure its been brought up, but has anyone ever tried supplimenting the diet of a DPS affected snake with calcium tablets?

 

[sweetangel]

this might help
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes/my-experiences-with-dps-65233
and no i dont think its the calcium thats the problem.
its the heat that is the problem plus over breeding so you are right to want to cool ur diamond regardless of breeding

 

[Mayhem]

It would be nice to see somone try it next time they have an affected DP.

 

[gomeztime]

Cooling is a great idea for Diamonds. I always cool my male over winter. I stop feeding about mid April and incrementally reduce basking times. From Mid May through till mid August I provide about 1.5 hours a day of basking time and quite often the male will take advantage of that.

People often say that during Winter, Diamonds just become more Diurnal as opposed to Nocturnal and I'd have to agree. They are a cold climate reptile and they really seem to be quite adept at getting about when it's cool.

I don't find that Diamonds loose weight over Winter, they just loose some condition and muscle tone. If you're Diamond is looking reasonably healthy at in a couple of months after some good feeds then I'd reduce feeding and temps. She's survived the neglect this long and would be used to seasonal temperature variation already therefore she'll probably either refuse food or slow down no matter what you do.

 

[Chris1]

great, thanks for the replies,...she is looking a whole lot better already and if i keep feeding her till april she should be a great big fatty,..(just kidding, not gonna over feed her,..) ,....she'll definately have enough condition to easily get thru winter anyway,...

so when cooling i'm still allowed to heat fro an hour an a half?
she'd love that, shes constantly looking for her heat source now, even once shes pooped shes still wanting to bask,...

thanks for the replies, and confirming its a good idea to cool her,...just wanna do everything right by her, shes such a lovely girl!

 

[tenacres1100]

It would be nice to see somone try it next time they have an affected DP.

it wouldn't help, once it has DPS a tablet wouldn't repair the damage.
The only way would be a contolled study keeping DP's, some with UV, some calcium tablets, some with vitamin D, ect ect, over a 10-20 year period

 

[dee4]

Great snakes Diamonds, congrats on your new addition.

It's not going to hurt to cool as per natural conditions the best you can in captivity. Once our lot are yearlings we cool from then on regardless of the species. As far as dates go, just the same as everything else, mid April through to end of august. We also provide a low wattage basking spot during the day, they come and bask and a few times a day & we do it as per daylight hours, like I said, as natural as you can in captivity. This works for us and doesn't suit everyone.

 

[mark83]

As dee4 said it doesn't hurt to cool it once it's past the hatchy stage so why not?

 

[Chris1]

sounds great, thanks fro the help!

ofcourse i'll cool her since thats whats gonna be best fro her,..i have other snakes i can annoy over winter, LOL!

 

[Kurto]

Hey chris1, I noticed your at Hornsby. There would be several hundred diamonds within 20ks of you who are going to cool this winter. In the case of the good old diamond I say let nature take it's course. They don't seem to loose a lot of condition over the winter if they don't breed.

 

[peterjohnson64]

Hey chris1, I noticed your at Hornsby. There would be several hundred diamonds within 20ks of you who are going to cool this winter. In the case of the good old diamond I say let nature take it's course. They don't seem to loose a lot of condition over the winter if they don't breed.

And remember that when these wild diamonds cool they will find very well insulated hiding spots so they they can retain as body warmth and not get exposed to the overnight minimum temperatures. If you are going to let yours cool in an aviary remember thet the insulation and protection you provide it from the cold needs to be as good as they can find themselves in the wild.

Plus I have noticed somwhat that there has been a drop off in DPS with a corresponding increase in OPMV. I even saw one case first hand where a Diamond died of what was diagnosed as OPMV. That snake had 4 cage mates and none have died and it is 3 years since the OPMV happened. Weird!!