On topic, I think you'll find that it's pretty much accepted that UVA and/or UVB are not required for pythons to maintain good health in captivity.
As for DPS, I'm with the bunch that consider it to be a bit of a furphy. As suggested I think that if it was genuine and contagious that it would affect all within the Morelia sp group and not be limited to those of the southern area of their range.
Cement, Jamie and Pinefamily,
Off topic (sorry, I couldn't resist...hahaha)
I've attached a link to paper that discusses the use of DN6 gene and cytochrome b (cyt b) as a means to identify and confirm species of the genus Morelia with attention to the Morelia spilota group. It's a bit more detailed and interesting than the one the pinefamily posted the extract from. It's long but well worth the read. I posted it a few months back but you may have missed it.
Have a good look at the Table on 298 and the Results and Discussion on 299. In the table all Morelia sp from northern WA, across the top of NT, through Qld, NSW, Vic and the eastern part of SA are listed together as M. spilota. Half a dozen from western SA and southern WA are listed as sub-species, M spilota imbricata and two specimens from central NT are listed as a separate species. M bredli.
Then have a read of the Results and Discussion.
From what I read it basically suggests that DNA analysis at the present time can identify and confirm the location of specimens from the Morelia sp group, however the question is...Is this enough evidence to split the group into individual species?
As I mentioned before, what I see as a problem with using mitochondrial DNA sequencing to attempt to identify and confirm species within such a close group as the Morelia, is that there is no set standard to positively confirm elevation to species level within the group. Furthermore, as I stated previously, the wording of the ICNZ Code is open to interpretation however it clearly excludes distribution itself as a character to differentiate taxa. Taxonomic characteristics in combination uniquely distinguish a taxon. So I believe that if DNA is going to be used as one of those characteristics there must be an agreed standard of identified genetic variations before it can be considered as a contributing characteristic defined as uniquely suitable.
Just my two bobs worth....and here's the link.
George.
http://www.researchgate.net/publica...ythons_suitable_for_degraded_forensic_samples