A 3rd diamond clutch

[zulu]

re A

Nice to see some more eggs serpentongue,mine without heat in the house are at 35.6c and if they was outside theyd be hotter in an aviary.The diamonds in the wild at this time of year find cool spots to hide,under rocks and in hles in the ground,i remember one i found unde4r an old cars petrol tank that was in the middle of thick lantana and was quite cool.That is the battle with diamonds,keeping them cool,i find the same problem with the alpine blotch blue tongues so they are supplied with deep leaf litter and more than one roof to shield heat.The advantage of an aviary is the cold nights that it provides rather than sun,people have to uderstand that diamonds will sun in the morning on a hot summer day early and then they must hide or overheat.Ive caught many diamond pythons over the years and have never felt them with my hands to be as hot as some captive ones ive picked up.I learned this stuff from watching wild diamonds for many years,they go underground more than people realise especially in summer its just rarely recorded in literature.

 

[serpenttongue]

Yeah i agree zulu, keepers hear the horror stories about DPS so they keep them in avairies where the snakes will receive sunlight all day, but then they dont take into consideration a diamonds need to get cool when it wants. There's so many places in the wild for them to cool down, and you only have to walk into a rainforest on a scorching hot day to feel the temp drop. I think deep leaflitter in rainforest areas is a favourite and most especially under thick lantana. I've never found a wild diamond on eggs but i reckon under very dense lantana would be one of their favourite nesting spots as even the most determined predator would have trouble getting to them.

I think if lantana was eradicated people would come across diamonds far more often in the wild.

 

[zulu]

re A 3rd

The one under the petroltank in lanta was a male serp and most adults in summer were hiding in holes underground in clay embankments that received morning sun,nesting habits of females is a different thing.When i said mine inside the house are at 35 c its just the snakes temp they dont have eggs.I f you walk around the place in dry coastal QLD in the day and its hot as buggery you can be assured a lot of herps and amphibians are underground including carpets,yeh you find toads and snakes other places like hollow logs and rock crevices but holes in the ground are favourable there also.Ide just like people to think about providing pythons cool refuges if they are outside and underground is simple and effective.Ime going to put an aviary outside for diamonds and carpets and as well as hollow logs and above ground hides it will underground hides for cool.

 

[hornet]

hey serpenttongue, a bit off topic but.....I LOVE CRADLE OF FILTH!!!...sry

 

[serpenttongue]

Hornet, you've just become my new favourite APS member!!!!

 

[reptililian]

Will I win back my position as favourite if I tell you that I love gothic architecture?

 

[serpenttongue]

Actually Lily, yes you will. I love gothic architecture too!! On seconds thoughts, i love the music more (in fact i NEED the music). Dont worry though, Lily. Hornet doesnt come on here enough for him/her to stay my favourite for long . Dont tell him/her i said that, though :wink:

 

[reptililian]

Aww thanks! And I promise not to tell Hornet!

 

[olivehydra]

C'mon folks, gothic was so yesterday.... its time to embrace the visigoths :wink:

 

[peterjohnson64]

Hey ST. Do your diamonds stay outside all year? Today is the classic of days where they need to find cool. It is a great idea to ahve the underground hide. I am just forming up a concrete slab for my new aviary and now I think I will dig an underground hide into it. How deep should I go? Is a foot of dirt above a hide box sufficient?

 

[reptililian]

Ignore him, Serpenttounge. He's CLEARLY not dedicated enough! :roll:

 

[olivehydra]

Ignore him, Serpenttounge. He's CLEARLY not dedicated enough! :roll:

Such is the burden of a prophet.

 

[reptililian]

"W" for "whatever"

 

[zulu]

re A

Slab of concrete Peter that complicates things,i put croncrete on the edges and corners of sheds and aviaries to stop escapes and keep it down. Ime going to dig trenchs and sink 14inch drainage pipes.Fourty four outside in the shade at the moment thats why i said they go underground for relief,inside the house the air con and fans are on and the clik claks are on the floor.I got six monitor eggs in the incubator and i hope they like plenty of heat,if i had a five thousand GTP ide be pooing myself today.

 

[southy]

i interested in the egg stealing... i thought the female never left her eggs, this is my first year breeding so i don't know a real lot about getting the eggs off her, but do they leave the eggs a few times a day or what?? so is it best to just wait around for her to go bask or just get in there and steal them??

 

[serpenttongue]

Zulu its so hot in Wollongong that i havent turned cage heating on for over a week. Today i had to supply ice packs for a panting Lacey to sit on and tubs of water for pythons to sit in. Unfortunately the water in the tubs doesnt stay cool for long. Its been so hot that none of my diamonds are even basking. It was already 29 degrees when i got out of bed at about 6:30am today and my diamonds were already on the floor of their avairies. Half of them are preparing to shed so they are staying as cool as possible.

I'm actually going to collect a large supply of a certain weed(dont know the name) which grows tall and plant it in the diamond avairies. It grows so rapidly and creates lots of shade and keeps the ground a lot cooler.

 

[zulu]

re A

Yeh its tragic heat serp ile be glad when the southerly comes through to cool things down mate,all the best with your critters in the gong!

 

[serpenttongue]

i interested in the egg stealing... i thought the female never left her eggs, this is my first year breeding so i don't know a real lot about getting the eggs off her, but do they leave the eggs a few times a day or what?? so is it best to just wait around for her to go bask or just get in there and steal them??

Diamonds that are kept outdoors will leave the eggs to bask, sometimes more than once a day in cool weather.

If they are kept indoors there's much less chance of them leaving because the temps are controlled and satisfactory enough for them not to bask.

Also, they usually wont leave them to bask until about the 2nd or 3rd day after laying.

 

[southy]

thanks ST, interesting and handy to know

 

[peterjohnson64]

With regards to my new concrete floor, I am merely putting the formwork in at the moment (didn't do much outdorr stuff today - we got to 44 degrees). I am thnking if leaving a section and digging in a underground hide box (like a wine cellar for my pythons). I will make the walls, floor & roof out of cool room material. this whould proivide for a much cooler spot for the pythons. I also have a two part roof separated by cool room material and the back wall is next to a colourbond fence that effectively provides protection from the north & west.

Also, how many do you keep in 1 aviary? And do you leave them out for winter. Wollongong is much milder that Narellan. We often get below zero in winter. You would rarely get below 6 I guess.