Diamond just started doing this

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NickD

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Hey Everyone,

1st post...wooo...

I've got a 7ft Diamond Python that's just started to squash himself up against his glass... is this common behaviour or is he trying to tell us something?

He came from a zoo and was handled a lot, so we are trying to get him to relax a bit now he's retired....

He's my first Diamond - any good advice appreciated :) thanks!

Nick

12923180_10154803090929741_6141559649564315716_n.jpg
 
Hi! Do you have a good temperature gradient in the enclosure? What are your warm and cool end temps?
 
Temperature related was my first thought too but really don't know. How bigs the enclosure? How many hours of heat are you giving? Very nice diamond by the looks
 
Lovely looking Diamond, congrats!
My diamond will do this when he's hungry, what prey size is he eating? and how often is he being fed?
Also does he have enough hiding spaces?
 
Hey guys thanks - we are going to put him in a bigger enclosure soon - we're just fixing one up now.

I hope it's cos he's hungry iguana - he hasn't eaten since we got him (coming up to four months) but apparently that's not unusual and we're letting him settle in.

He's 7'6" with a bit of his tail missing - very placid - likes helping me in the office...


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Norm - we have the heat lamp on a thermostat so it runs 24hrs. I've heard some people turn heat off at night ...


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Norm - we have the heat lamp on a thermostat so it runs 24hrs. I've heard some people turn heat off at night ...


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If you live in Sydney , then you would not need heating at all during the night , summer / winter .
 
Yeh the lamp is not on that much really cos it's on the thermostat and he's got plenty of room to get away from it


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I provide a hot spot around 32 during spring, summer and early spring 4hrs a day. In late spring reduce to 3hrs. Mid winter down to 2 hrs.
Other than that its ambient indoor temp.
Daylight in line with seasonal periods.

I'm sure you will find this is not unusual with Diamonds. When I saw the pic I like others immediately thought it was heat related and while your hot spot is ok if you are providing heat 24/7 it might suggest this to be the problem.
 
Thanks Paul - we might try this and put the lamp on a timer as well

He has stopped squashing himself up against the glass. He's lying next to the edge of the tank a lot more now and seems to be taking more interest in what's happening around him


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You really wanna turn the heat off for most of the day and all night,
Do a bit of reading about Diamond Python Syndrome, there's quite a few people that think it's caused by prolonged heat exposure,
 
You really wanna turn the heat off for most of the day and all night,
Do a bit of reading about Diamond Python Syndrome, there's quite a few people that think it's caused by prolonged heat exposure,

I am one of these people, I have no proof but believe it to be caused by too high a temp and lack of UV light.
 
Ok will do that today thanks - it's great to hear some of this stuff - it helps a lot :)


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I am one of these people, I have no proof but believe it to be caused by too high a temp and lack of UV light.

This how urban myths start - you have no proof but you "believe..." What does that actually mean, and how is it helpful to the OP? Your theory is simply a theory without any evidence whatsoever, and not something that needs to influence the OP. Diamonds can indeed encounter very high temperatures through the warmer months, throughout their range. They will bask (usually mornings and late afternoons), reach an optimum temperature and then retire until the heat of the day has gone. Like all pythons, they DO NOT need UV, it won't cause them any harm, but it is not necessary for good health.

From what the OP has said, I would be concerned that it either has not fed, or not been offered food, for more than four months during the time of the year when it should be feeding ravenously. In most cases Carpets & Diamonds which are well adapted to captivity, as this one should be, will feed as soon as food is offered, even on the first day in its new home. It looks like there are husbandry issues - too cool, and not enough heat for long enough during the heat cycle. A basking spot of around 34, with sufficient space in the enclosure for the animal to remove itself from heat when it has reached that optimum temperature. If the perforated metal sheet in the picture runs right across the bottom of the enclosure, it will keep the lower levels of the enclosure from getting suitably warm - convection will draw large amounts of cold air into the enclosure right across the bottom. In my experience, whenever Carpets are reluctant to feed, the first thing to look at is temperature. This is clearly a well acclimatised old-timer, and should need little or no time to "settle in." Unless there is some underlying health issue, the problem will be related to temperature. Four months without food during the period of peak activity, while it won't damage the animal in the long-term, shouldn't have gone unremarked for as long as it has.

Jamie
 
I provide a hot spot around 32 during spring, summer and early spring 4hrs a day. In late spring reduce to 3hrs. Mid winter down to 2 hrs.
Other than that its ambient indoor temp.
Daylight in line with seasonal periods.

I'm sure you will find this is not unusual with Diamonds. When I saw the pic I like others immediately thought it was heat related and while your hot spot is ok if you are providing heat 24/7 it might suggest this to be the problem.

Yeh I really appreciate all the feedback guys :)

There is a lot of consistency with all of your advice so I've turned the heat off and will give him 3-4 hrs a day - probs on a smaller lamp as well

He generally seems to be a happy snake - he gets a run in the backyard regularly for some sun.

We just need to get him to start eating now - I'll be going through the threads to see what's on here but it's great to see so many other Diamond owners and chat to you guys!
 
Ok NickD, so the plot thickens. I'm trying to get my head around it myself as I'm on here to learn as much as I can if I should get a snake one day. :)

  • So it seems that [MENTION=32852]Pauls_Pythons[/MENTION] and [MENTION=41820]pythoninfinite[/MENTION] recommend a hot spot of 32-34, which is 2-6 degrees higher than yours currently.

  • [MENTION=32852]Pauls_Pythons[/MENTION] and others suggest reduced day/night heat exposure.

  • [MENTION=41820]pythoninfinite[/MENTION] says your diamond not feeding is a problem and indicates it may not be hot enough for your diamond to be tempted.

That's what I got from it. All of which is consistent and can be integrated together.

Is that how others see it?
 
32...34... won't make a lot of difference - temperatures fluctuate a lot more than this in their natural habitat, but it's probably better to err on the warmer side as long as the snake can move when it wants too. There seems to be common belief that Diamonds need generally cooler temps day and night throughout the year. This may be erroneous, because as I've said, daytime temps even in the southern part of their range can frequently exceed 40C during the summer months, while overall the averages are cooler for the year. This is important because many keepers therefore believe that cooler max daytime enclosure temps are appropriate even in summer for their Diamonds. Most Carpets will thrive if heat is turned off for 14-16 hours a day year-round, and maybe longer during the cooler months - allowing 4-5 hours heat daily through winter is probably quite enough especially if you're planning on breeding.

It is likely that Diamonds do better if they are kept ON AVERAGE cooler throughout the year cooler, but that probably shouldn't mean denying them a decent heat gradient through the summer, for 3-4 months. DPS may or may not exist, and the reasons we cite for its existence may or may not be the right ones (except the UV myth). I know anecdotally that they don't thrive long-term in the tropics, and will decline in health after several years of warmer than their usual environmental temps. Why this should be seems to be a mystery yet to be solved, but a few months exposure to "normal" Carpet summer temps won't harm them at all.

Jamie.
 
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