outdoor Diamonds

[saxon]

has anyone noticed their outdoor diomonds gravid yet or is it a bit early.

 

[playwell]

I have seen my male mating with one of the females after she shed, a couple of weeks ago. I think they only did it for the one day. Now she just keeps knocking him back no matter how much he tries.

The other females is about to shed, hope fully by the end of the week, so I'm hoping some action will happen there.

What about you? What are yours doing?

 

[hugsta]

Both my male and female shed not long ago and I finally witnessed them mating the other night so hopefully it will be succesful this year.

 

[saxon]

male shed about a week ago and one female friday night and the other female looks like its about to shed. so do you guys normally see the mating after they have their first shed out of winter? is this a sign or just coincidence??

 

[hph]

what age to put them outdoors ?

At what age can they be put outdoors as mine is about 18 months as I already have a small aviary which it can go in.

 

[playwell]

what age to put them outdoors ?

At what age can they be put outdoors as mine is about 18 months as I already have a small aviary which it can go in.

I would put it out in the aviary now, as it is getting warmer every day and the nights are not getting as cold. Nights are about 12deg at the coldest where I live and my Diamonds stay warmer than that in their hides.

Thats what I would do thou, not saying it would be right for you.
Make sure you have the aviary facing North.

 

[OuZo]

so do you guys normally see the mating after they have their first shed out of winter? is this a sign or just coincidence??

I was wondering the same thing! My young male shed a few days ago, the breeding male shed about 2 weeks ago and the female is shedding now. Do they normally have a shed when they come out of cooling? These are the first snakes we've ever cooled so not sure

 

[zen]

Hi guys,

They're beaut specimens you have there Playwell. That looks like a great set-up too. Your animals look very content.

i've got Diamond's too & like hph, i'm considering putting them outside.
i've heard that they do better when kept outside, if you live in their natural range (as i do).

My main concern is them rubbing their snouts.
Just wondering if they're likely to rub?.

Do you have to take any precautions to prevent this happening?
What, if any, design considerations should be incorporated into the aviary construction?

Any advice regarding this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

john

 

[playwell]

I have not noticed any snout rubbing as yet, they dont want to come out.

I had a female out a couple of weeks ago to show a friend. I put her on the ground about 3 metres from the open door and she went staight back through the door to her hide.
I couldnt believe it, they really do seem happier out there. They love the sun.

 

[zen]

Thanks Playwell.

i hope you don't mind me asking you a few more questions.

how long you've had your Diamonds outside for?
do they stay outside all year round?
& have they bred for you yet?

thanks, john

 

[herptrader]

I know of at least one breeder in country Victoria who keeps diamonds outside year round in an avairy and has had breeding success. They do not even separate them. During the winter they wrap the avairy in plastic sheets. Given where they live and the location of the avery I reckon it would get pretty cold for them when the Autum frosts come around.

I am assuming that most of the people contributing to this thread are around Sydney. I would be curious to know of anybody keeping outside in Victoria.

I have entertained the idea with Vic Carpets but as I don't have any that idea has never really got off the ground. ;-)

(Actually I have seen tiger snakes kept outside in Victoria a number of times - including at the Ballarat Wildlife Park. They however are naturally found throughout Victoria.)

 

[zen]

That's interesting Herptrader.
Outdoor Diamond breeding success!
That's probably outside their natural range then, unless they're in the coastal eastern tip of Vic.
Are they inland, where it get's colder?

 

[playwell]

I have only had them out since mid Augest.
The male is new as my other male had to be put down because of tumor that couldnt be operated on.

So this is a learning curve for me. But I have only seen improvement in the Diamonds since putting them outside.

I was also thinking of putting some Murray Darlings and/or other Pythons in other aviaries.

I know they Murray Darlings would be OK. I think a Coastal would possibly handle it well as there are many very cold areas the come from.

 

[serpenttongue]

Zen, diamonds do well outdoors because they have cool/cold nights. This is very important to a diamonds health. They must be cycled properly. Many people have had diamonds die when kept indoors (possibly diamond syndrome) because they tend to keep them warm day and night over the majority of the year. This will screw diamonds up. Cold nights for diamonds are more important to their health than exposure to UV light.

I have kept diamonds in outdoor avairies since 1987 and have never had 1 rub its nose against the wire to try and escape. They are kept together all year round and breed with enthusiasm. I've had some major setbacks this year but i have still seen one of my males mating with 2 females. I give him a week with one, then take him out and give him a week with the other, and so on... he's feeding too at this time.

 

[zen]

Thanks for those answers Serpenttongue & Playwell,

Sorry to hear about your loss Playwell.
Hope your new male goes well.

Sounds like outdoors is the way to go then.


Cold nights sound like the key to keeping Diamonds, Serpenttongue.
Thanks for the wisdom & time you took to answer my Q.'s

Diamonds in avairies since 1987! Now that's impressive! There's no substitute for experience.
And you never had a single nose-rub!.
Well that alleviates my concerns. Rubbing against the wire was my main reservation in putting them outside.

I'll try the '1 week with one female, next week with the other female' routine, if I ever have 2 females reproductively active in the same season.

Thanks heaps for the good advice. I greatly appreciate it.

All the best to you both.


zen

 

[herptrader]

Cold nights for diamonds are more important to their health than exposure to UV light.

I think it worth mentioning that the jury is still out on this subject. I have heard strongly put and fairly convincing arguments to say that UV alone or temperature cycling alone is the critical factor for the long term health of Diamonds and prevents DPS.

Obviously keeping them outside provides the best of both worlds.

Thinking of Melbourne and in the context of global warming I would suspect that a correctly located avairy is definitely a good option. Actually the problem in Melbourne is more likely the handful of very hot days we tend to get each year. A day at 45C would probably kill any snake that did not have an option to escape the heat.

 

[zen]

DPS?

Hi Herptrader,

You said:-

...UV alone or temperature cycling alone is the critical factor for the long term health of Diamonds and prevents DPS.

Could you please elaborate on this point?.

I'm a little confused as to which factor is critical?

Thanks

zen

 

[herptrader]

DPS?

I would be providing both and make no claim to knowing which is more important.

Bob Withey, who posts on this forum, always stresses the importance of UV.

There was a paper circulating a while back by an American who used to put is diamonds in a box in the garage for a few months over winter and claimed that this was the key to success.

Good reading on Diamonds and their behaviour in the wild can be found in some if Rick Shine's papers and his book "Australian Snakes".

Hi Herptrader,

You said:-

...UV alone or temperature cycling alone is the critical factor for the long term health of Diamonds and prevents DPS.

Could you please elaborate on this point?.

I'm a little confused as to which factor is critical?

Thanks

zen

 

[Simon_Archibald]

Daavid,
That american article regarding Diamond Pythons in foam boxes over winter was by Stan Chiras...I am lead to believe that he had a lot of his snakes die from this??

Simon Archibald

 

[serpenttongue]

Simon, from what i've been told Stan did lose his adults.I think this was due to dropping their temps too suddenly instead of lowering them slowly and then never giving them the opportunity to bask during winter. Anyone who's kept diamonds outdoors over winter will agree with me that they will bask every day during winter if given the opportunity.