New Diamond Enclosure - no idea on lighting/heating...please help!!

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rubygirl

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Hi all, I'm working on a tv unit conversion with my 8yo son for his Diamond.
So far so good, we have just begun rendering the 'rock wall' (thank you Tit4n for your excellent instructions!)
We have now come to a standstill on the 'technical' part and was wondering if we could get a few views to see if we are on the right track. Our Diamond is just under 5ft, this is will not be her final enclosure, just a happy medium (and practice) for a while until we attempt a taller one..... The enclosure measures approx 1000mm x 900mm and 600mm deep. We are thinking of using a 2ft UV fluorescent tube on a timer to imitate day/night cycles but are unsure of heating.... her current 3x2ft 'box' uses 2 x 75w infrared heating globes running on a thermostat - does that mean that for a larger enclosure I need more powerful CHE's?
She lives in my sons room so he wants to keep some sort of infrared lighting for night viewing but being a Diamond (in Melbourne) I'm looking at turning her heating off at night - and am trying to avoid going overboard with lights if that makes sense... putting everything together I'm thinking I'm going to need a 2ft UVB on a day/night timer, some sort of CHE (no clue what strength) on thermostat PLUS a separate infrared (maybe led strip?) for night viewing... does this make sense? I'd rather not use a heat pad, probably wait until our larger unit to do that... The heating will be going in the roof on the right hand side of the unit with a branch for basking underneath it.....

Sorry I've tried to attach a pic but I can't get it to work :/

Any advice greatly appreciated, guy in the reptile shop I went refused to help me once he found out I wasn't buying one of his enclosures, despite being a loyal monthly customer for 2 years!!

thanks heaps,
Rubygirl ( & son)
 
In all of my enclosures I use two screw lamp battons. One has a 2.0 UV lamp on a timer for 6hrs a day and a heat globe on for 4hrs a day and reduced down to around 2hrs via timers during the winter months. The lamp battons I use are easy to install and no need for an electrician as they are all wired up and ready to go.
Just remember to put a light cage around them so your Diamond wont burn herself.

Check out on ebay : TMZ206 Bracket Lamp Battenholder 1.8m cable on/off reptile brooder fitting Light (seller egernia007)

k13ynq.jpg
 
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Viking_Pythons advise sounds basically right to me though I give a couple more hours of heat over summer. As said on another post, the day/night cycle and heating times in Keeping and Breeding Australian Pythons by Mike Swan is an excellent guide and probably most diamond keepers use this as a starting point. I only use 40w spot globes from bunnings with my basking spot about 20cm under the globe. Keep a small, localised basking spot for diamonds, don`t heat the whole enclosure. For day/night cycles I use compact flouro ES globes in a low wattage, say around 10w. I don't use UV and don't use IR for viewing but my snakes aren`t on display in the house.
You definitely don`t need to heat your diamond of a night, as long as its getting adequate heat during the day.
 
Fantastic advice guys thanks! I have had the Mike Swan book on order for a little while now so it should turn up any day now.... Viking_Python thanks for the pic, makes it much easier to get my head around what I'm looking for.
I'm so grateful to have found this site where I can get simple straight-forward advice and not feel like an idiot......

Just one last quickie - is it a good idea to give a longer period of heat when going through shed? I know the humidity needs to be a little higher......

thanks,
 
I don't alter anything and my snakes have no problems shedding.
 
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