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First comment, and I'm surprised others have not mentioned this - NEVER change the snake's thermal circumstances in mid winter. If you want to transition to a more normal basking regime, wait until late spring, when the last of the cold nights has passed, and then drop the temps, or put them outside. If you are going to put them outside (and I recommend this because they will do far better with a more normal basking regime) they need to go out when the days are warm and they have at least a day to explore and find appropriate shelters when adverse conditions prevail. If you put them outside at this time of the year, they will have an hour or two at best to look around an then get too cold to achieve the necessary familiarity with their new surroundings. In winter these snakes are largely sedentary - they find a suitable spot which provides good shelter from adverse (cold & wet) conditions, and also somewhere nearby to bask when the morning sun is warming. They are obviously very familiar with, and habituated to, the area. I live on a 100 acre bush block, and there are a couple of pythons I see routinely in the same spot on any suitable morning.
This has almost nothing to do with air temperature (as Sdaji has indicated) and everything to do with surfaces warmed by the sun. I have my intergrade pythons outside, here near Port Macquarie (admittedly a little warmer than Sydney at this time of the year, but the principle is the same). The sun hits the aviary about 8.30am on sunny days - they emerge about 30 minutes later, even if the air temps are in single digits, and bask for maybe an hour. Then they very quickly return to their hides - they don't muck around, they head for the hide entrance and go in, non-stop. This is because they have reached the critical temp, they don't want to lose body heat, and they curl up tightly and I don't see them again until the next day.
It is very important that you return your animals to the regime they are familiar with as soon as possible, and do not make any changes until at least late October. If you make the changes you wish to make now, your animals will very likely die from a cold-induced respiratory infection.
As far as aviary placement is concerned, it needs morning sun especially in winter, shelter from strong winds, and some shelter from summer extremes - the iron sheeting will act like an oven if not shaded in the afternoons on hot summer days.
A couple of other things worth mentioning - keep an eye on their respiratory health over the next month or so due to the chilling they have encountered recently, and if they show signs of discomfort, get them checked by a vet immediately. And never disturb them when they are cold and inactive, and they are in an environment which allows them to chill and bask naturally. During winter their immune systems are running less effectively, and you will almost always precipitate a respiratory infection. If they are warm after basking maybe, but definitely not when they are cold and inactive.
Jamie
This has almost nothing to do with air temperature (as Sdaji has indicated) and everything to do with surfaces warmed by the sun. I have my intergrade pythons outside, here near Port Macquarie (admittedly a little warmer than Sydney at this time of the year, but the principle is the same). The sun hits the aviary about 8.30am on sunny days - they emerge about 30 minutes later, even if the air temps are in single digits, and bask for maybe an hour. Then they very quickly return to their hides - they don't muck around, they head for the hide entrance and go in, non-stop. This is because they have reached the critical temp, they don't want to lose body heat, and they curl up tightly and I don't see them again until the next day.
It is very important that you return your animals to the regime they are familiar with as soon as possible, and do not make any changes until at least late October. If you make the changes you wish to make now, your animals will very likely die from a cold-induced respiratory infection.
As far as aviary placement is concerned, it needs morning sun especially in winter, shelter from strong winds, and some shelter from summer extremes - the iron sheeting will act like an oven if not shaded in the afternoons on hot summer days.
A couple of other things worth mentioning - keep an eye on their respiratory health over the next month or so due to the chilling they have encountered recently, and if they show signs of discomfort, get them checked by a vet immediately. And never disturb them when they are cold and inactive, and they are in an environment which allows them to chill and bask naturally. During winter their immune systems are running less effectively, and you will almost always precipitate a respiratory infection. If they are warm after basking maybe, but definitely not when they are cold and inactive.
Jamie
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