Diamond Python Housing / Heating

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chr1ssso

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Hi All,

I have been keeping snaked about 5 years now and always learning, as i am new to Diamonds i wanted some comments on my setup and try and come up with a general consensus to make sure i am doing it right!

The enclosure is 3ft x 3ft x 2ft i have a male he is about 3 years old, i provide hides on both ends as well as branches that go up and across, currently as i type this he came out from his hide under the heat with about an hour of UVB left and is quite happily sitting on the top branch midway across. all lamps and heat sources are caged.

firstly i live in Melbourne, I basically run a 5.o UVB fluoro on a 12/12 schedule as far as heating is concerned my home never really gets cooler than about 14 degrees in winter and never hotter than about 25 in summer i heat my diamond as follows

Thermo set to 32 degrees from 8am - 2pm then no heat at all till the morning, although currently i have it set not to fall below 20 degrees, its 7:30 pm now and its reading 25.4 on the hot end so gradually going down and i suspect it will sit at room temp about 21 degrees through the night.

I am feeding good quality rats once a week / fortnight depending on deification.

So thats basically it in a nutshell, would really like to get some experienced Diamond keepers opinions and any comments / criticism that will help keep my animal in peak health condition.

Regards Chris.
 
First thing is, good work for checking, diamonds are quite different to normal morelia so extra research is a good idea. If you haven't already, research DPS, Diamond Python Syndrome.

I would stop feeding weekly, for all snakes. Wild snakes don't feed this often, they haven't evolved that way and it is unhealthy for them to be constantly digesting food. It is much better for the snake to eat larger food, less often. By this i mean one appropriate food item, not a few smaller ones, every 2 weeks. You snake will be much healthier and live longer.

For heat, Diamonds should get a few hours in the morning and then no heat the rest of the day and night. Because of their colour, they absorb heat very quickly and retain it for a long time. I heat my 8 year old Diamond at 31 degrees from 8 am until 12 pm. She will come out and bask for 1-3 hours (depends if she has eaten or the temps that day) and then retreat to the cool area, even if the heat is still on.

Many people debate whether UVB is even necessary, i don't believe it is, only because i haven't managed to find anyone who can give me actual evidence to say that it is. If someone can, then please do and i'd love to have a look.

Other people will have different opinions but this is mine, hope it helps.
 
I've kept Diamonds for a number of years in Melbourne (6 animals). Mine are kept in enclosures in a cool garage and are exposed to temperatures below 10 degrees regularly overnight during winter with no apparent ill effects. They always have access to well insulated hide boxes though. I largely follow Russell Grants original method as outlined in Keeping and Breeding Australian Pythons. I mix it up a bit and don't always offer identical basking times. I do however keep average ambient temperatures bellow 20C during winter and below 25C during summer. I purchased an adult pair from Southern X Cross reptiles a few years ago and Simon Stone recommended these temperatures as a guide. They used large enclosures with a wall mounted CHE surrounded by cement sheeting. This 'hot box' would reach temperatures of up to 37C before a thermostat would switch it off and it would slowly cool over a few hours. He said he found that they used this more than the incandescent light that was also available. So in essence, they had access to a hot box that would heat and cool over the course of the day, ranging from 14hours on during summer to 8hours during winter.

Unfortunately I had to put the female down this year. Shane Simpson diagnosed what I recall as a 'common' bone disease found in all pythons that slowly eats away at the bones, particularly along the spine. This was not a case of 'Diamond Python syndrome' but I felt it might add to my information. Apparently it is not related to husbandry and cannot be treated. She was approximately 13years old and 2.6 metres long.

Simon Stone communicated to me that he had found (through tissue samples analysis etc.) that excess heat interferes with their hormone systems and leads to a host of other issues. Access to UV is not necessary for their health.

This is just an example on the basic guidelines that I keep my Diamonds by. I am always interested to hear how others keep theirs. I feel as though that as long as they have access to 31C for a few hours and having permanent access to temperatures below 25C, they do fine. Hope this information is of use to some people.

Simon
 
Many people debate whether UVB is even necessary, i don't believe it is, only because i haven't managed to find anyone who can give me actual evidence to say that it is. If someone can, then please do and i'd love to have a look.

Other people will have different opinions but this is mine, hope it helps.

That should also be reflected with your DPS comment as to date there are no scientific "facts" which outline the cause of DPS.
 
Hi guys,

Thankyou all so much for the information, Sobrien, I too have had advice from Russell and based on the replies and everyone I have spoken too I agree, 4-6 hours of heat and then ambient temps, mine heats to 31 and then turns off, currently it's 5pm and sitting on about 25 last night about 3am it was sitting at about 21 I will remove the 20 deg minimum and in summer possibly reduce the amount of time the heat is on for, thanks all again for the responses I feel better already as I really do love my animals and want to give them the best quality of life.

Cheers

Chris


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