Best way to start off - diamond python

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diamondc8

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Hi there!
In the next week or 2 I'm picking my new diamond hatchie up from the airport. As a newbie I'd appreciate any advice for settling the little guy in. He's coming to brisbane from melboune so very interested in temps/best heating equipment given that its much warmer/sunnier up here and don't want to over heat. (he'll get regular outside time in the sun too) The glass vivarium is 60 x 60 and 90 high.

Cheers :)
 
Way way way too big for a hatchie of any python species, let alone a diamond. Whats wrong with something the size of a shoebox at least till Summer.
 
It was a freebie so was cheering I didn't have to buy anything ;) you reckon it will freak out with too much space? Can get something smaller
 
Will defiantly stress a hatchie out, would eventually stop eating and become extremely aggressive. Best to get a 'click clack' container or a tupperware container (with holes drilled) and place it inside the heated enclosure until it's big enough to move out into the big enclosure.
 
Here is a great thread I've come across on this forum: Guide to build a click-clack.

Also a few people here have cautioned against using second hand enclosures, so check up on some threads (like this one). I think glass is easier to clean and sanitise than wood though so make sure you clean it out really well with some bleach/water solution or similar and rinse it extra well and let it dry in the sun (if we ever have any!).
 
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Beauty guys thanks for the info! Yes I've scrubbd, sterilised and sunned the enclosure but I'll get onto the click clack box to go inside it till he's bigger :)
 
Will defiantly stress a hatchie out, would eventually stop eating and become extremely aggressive. Best to get a 'click clack' container or a tupperware container (with holes drilled) and place it inside the heated enclosure until it's big enough to move out into the big enclosure.

Although large enclosures are not recommended for small snakes/hatchlings, saying it will definitely (note the spelling) stress a hatchy out is not always true, and as long as normal husbandry parameters are met, it probably wouldn't stop eating, and it would have no reason to become "extremely aggressive." Captive snakes are not generally aggressive, but they may be defensive - two very different things. Very few things are absolutes in reptile keeping.

Jamie
 
Although large enclosures are not recommended for small snakes/hatchlings, saying it will definitely (note the spelling) stress a hatchy out is not always true, and as long as normal husbandry parameters are met, it probably wouldn't stop eating, and it would have no reason to become "extremely aggressive." Captive snakes are not generally aggressive, but they may be defensive - two very different things. Very few things are absolutes in reptile keeping.

Jamie

apologies for the awkward/incorrect wording, I was picturing a large barren enclosure with no hides, which in my experience turns a snake off food and defensive. True there are no absolutes, it was a generalization.
 
It's interesting, the "defiantly" thing... it's definitely the most commonly misused word on this site;)! And you're right, small snakes often do feel insecure in large enclosures, especially if they have nothing tight and secure to hide away in, and another problem is that they often can't easily access suitable temps. Baby pythons are almost totally nocturnal, they don't bask because they'd be sitting ducks for predators such as kookaburras, which is why they don't utilise open heat sources the same as larger pythons do, so a smallish plastic tub with bottom heat provides them with more security. But it's not an absolute, there are always exceptions to the rule.

Jamie
 
Definitely not a barren enclosure! I have several hides around the place, different hights and temps too. (And lots of plants around the edges so the outside world is blocked out a bit) Will whip up a click clack box over the weekend anyway to start with and just see how he goes. Hopefully he'll venture out of it into his enclosure without too much trouble :)
 
Will be absolutely fine in that enclosure so long as it has plenty of places to hide away. (As has been mentioned already).
I'm not a big fan of the 'click-clack' set up myself.

As Jamie said heating will need to be readily accessed from multiple points in the enclosure but thats not to say you need to cook the thing. It also needs to be able to escape the heat.
One of the biggest problems people encounter with small snakes in larger enclosures is security. If there is a way for the animal to escape you are going to wake one morning to a missing animal & we will log on to a new 'how do I find my snake' post.

Make sure it's secure or suffer the consequences.
 
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