Diamond Python Growth Rate

[Buggster]

Well! It finally happened. Got a little Diamond I've been planning for the last year

He's a year old, but he looks so tiny- I've heard very conflicting stories on the growth rate of these guys (having heard they are extremely fast and extremely slow growers... it can't be both...).

Trying to get a bit more weight on him in preparation for the coming winter. I won't be brumating him this year as he's new and I'd rather be 100% confident in brumating than not.
Currently chomping down on fuzzy mice every 4-5 days and I do plan on bumping it up a size or two when we've gone through them all. Will be cutting back on the feeds shortly, but I'm really trying to put some weight on him before winter just in case he decides that he'd rather not eat!

So yeah... how fast do you guys reckon they grow? I'm very excited to watch this little guy grow!

And on a side note, when do these guys colour up? Got some very nice yellow coming through on him, but is his colour now what it will be for life or...?

Thanks!

 

[pinefamily]

Congrats on the new addition.
Diamonds are like all snakes, they'll grow as much as they eat. With the colour, our diamond girl was virtually black when we got her as a hatchling, now she is very yellow. Have you seen the parents?

 

[Buggster]

Congrats on the new addition.
Diamonds are like all snakes, they'll grow as much as they eat. With the colour, our diamond girl was virtually black when we got her as a hatchling, now she is very yellow. Have you seen the parents?

I've snooped out the FB page of the breeder he came from, and I believe I know who the mother was.
On the FB page they were advertised as a 'high yellow' clutch, but at the expo they were just marked as Diamonds.

Regardless I'm not fussed- no such thing as an ugly Diamond! Just curious at about what age they'd display their full 'adult' colouration

 

[pinefamily]

Our girl is quite yellow now, at 3.
With the feeding, just be careful not to overfeed, as diamonds are prone to put on weight.

 

[Buggster]

Our girl is quite yellow now, at 3.
With the feeding, just be careful not to overfeed, as diamonds are prone to put on weight.

Yeah...
I'm trying to balance out putting on some weight for winter without overfeeding him.
To be completely honest the mice seem way to small anyway (it was either those or fully grown ones, and they were half price...) so I'm not too fussed at the moment.

Glad he's eating well though, my Stimsons is giving me trouble with eating. Hasn't eaten in a month and I'm planning on brumating over winter and I really want a few more feeds in him before he goes in the basement.

And just in terms of heating, I had it at 24/7 heat (35 on the hotspot- he hangs from the top of his hide so I suspect it's a bit cooler) until he had his first feed (3 days after purchase), and after that had it from 8am-6pm. Eventually wanting to bring that right down to 12-2 every day (Diamond Python syndrome being at the forefront of my mind), but I'm unsure when I could bring it down to such a short period. I live in Sydney and their are wild Diamond around so I know the temps don't drop too low (current around 22 during the day) but I worry to much for my own good

 

[danyjv]

Buggster I got my 2 year old diamond from castle hill show and he's the same size as yours. I couldn't believe he was two when the breeder told me .



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[Pauls_Pythons]

In my opinion......(that old get out of jail free card) but also as a breeder of Diamonds......
Diamonds are often overfed. I feed hatchies weekly once they are established. Any I still have at a year old go to 2 weekly and adults are fed sparingly. (10-12 good feeds per year) But adults are brumated every year whether being bred or not.
I would say that one is a pretty decent size for a yearling.
Colour will continue to improve, they hit their best around maturity, (4-5) and hold good colour till 9 or 10 then tend to darken as they age.
On a side note seeing the parents is not a clear indicator of how the bubs will look. It might give you some idea but my main breeding pair are both tri-colour but I would get only half a clutch that typically hold that trait past 2 years of age. The 2 years I have bred them I have also thrown a single high yellow animal.
(Thats what I see in mine anyway but Im sure someone will come along who's brothers mates cousin has Diamonds and he says blah blah blah)

 

[Buggster]

Buggster I got my 2 year old diamond from castle hill show and he's the same size as yours. I couldn't believe he was two when the breeder told me .



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I'm guessing we've gotten from the same breeder as there were so few Diamond breeders! I did a double take when I was told he was a year old- I though he was a month or so old xD

 

[Buggster]

In my opinion......(that old get out of jail free card) but also as a breeder of Diamonds......
Diamonds are often overfed. I feed hatchies weekly once they are established. Any I still have at a year old go to 2 weekly and adults are fed sparingly. (10-12 good feeds per year) But adults are brumated every year whether being bred or not.
I would say that one is a pretty decent size for a yearling.
Colour will continue to improve, they hit their best around maturity, (4-5) and hold good colour till 9 or 10 then tend to darken as they age.
On a side note seeing the parents is not a clear indicator of how the bubs will look. It might give you some idea but my main breeding pair are both tri-colour but I would get only half a clutch that typically hold that trait past 2 years of age. The 2 years I have bred them I have also thrown a single high yellow animal.
(Thats what I see in mine anyway but Im sure someone will come along who's brothers mates cousin has Diamonds and he says blah blah blah)

Yikes! Looks like I'm cutting back on the feeding ASAP xD

And just in terms of #of hours of heating, would it be fine to drop it down to 4 hours a day straight away (12-2)?

 

[SKYWLKR]

I reckon you could do away with feeding mice and start on rats. All my Diamonds have been awesome with rats but having said that, I've always grown them way slower that any other species. I find that the colour really fires around the 3 year mark and as long as they are active and behaving normally, don't boost them too much. I've still got my original one who's pushing 16 and still going ok for a grandpa!

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

I agree with the rats. I get mine on rats as soon as they will take them.
You will get many suggestions with heating too lol.
I keep hatchies on heat 24/7 particularly through their first winter so I can promote a good eating routine.
Once they get through winter I wean them off heat down to 4hrs a day. (Some say 6, some say 8 but I go 4hrs.) The reason I do 4hrs is mine are indoors and ambient is generally 21-22 so they don't need more than 4hrs a day.

 

[Buggster]

I agree with the rats. I get mine on rats as soon as they will take them.
You will get many suggestions with heating too lol.
I keep hatchies on heat 24/7 particularly through their first winter so I can promote a good eating routine.
Once they get through winter I wean them off heat down to 4hrs a day. (Some say 6, some say 8 but I go 4hrs.) The reason I do 4hrs is mine are indoors and ambient is generally 21-22 so they don't need more than 4hrs a day.

Looks like I'll be cutting down on his hotspot hours then!
Of course his timer is the one that decides to malfunction on me... hopefully I'll be able to purchase a new one this weekend.

Thank you all for your advice!