Squishy diamonds

[reptililian]

Would you swear not to change their names? I'd hate them to get confused. Just imagine if you took them down to the local park, and Ballentyne Tweed wandered off too far and you tried to call him back but he didn't come cos you'd changed his name to Greg. You do promise to keep taking them to the park, don't you?

And Satellite won't eat anything with fur on it, so you have to shave or wax his dinner before you give it to him.

The Curious Cat likes to snuggle up beside me on the lounge at night while I'm reading or watching tv. But she gets really agro if you watch anything on the commercial channels. It's ABC or SBS ONLY. And she'll only eat if you have some nice soothing classical playing in the background. She's such a high-brow herp!

I've still got Hermes and Heraklion to give you instructions on, but there's so many, it'd be better if I just faxed the list to you.

Still keen?

 

[southy]

names, my brain goes on overload trying to get names for my snakes, 16 names plus lizards are too much too remember for me but i do think they are quite interesting and different names at that

 

[reptililian]

Thanks Southy.

Would be interesting to find out how many "Snaps" or "Montys" there are out there! :wink: Not that there's anything wrong with these names, though. Just that they're fairly common. Like Mohammed, the most common name in the world.

 

[peterjohnson64]

I had two carpets called "Shag" & "Pile" but what does this really have to with DPS???

 

[reptililian]

Cute names, Pete. However, I think I'm going to have to get it written into the syndicate contract that for Project Chondro, I have naming rights of all the yellow worms! :wink:

 

[Linus]

Unfortunately there is a lot of incorrect/old info floating around (books, etc), and while newbies like me may be doing what we THINK is correct, it's no good if our best intentions end up killing our pet.

That's excatly right reptilitan. I think a lot of books have outdated and misleading information in them. Some of that infiormation has been the conventional wisdom for so long that it will take a long time to turn the tide. Serpent tongue you should write a book on keeping of diamonds with some other experienced keepers. Maybe that could be the start of trying to eradicate dps.

Great thread anyway...thanks zulu and st for your patience.

 

[herptrader]

I wont feed if its cold and windy, regardless of whether or not the suns out, as the cold wind blowing across their bodies keeps them from warming up.

Won't wind cool the body only if moisture is involved? As humans with sweat glands we feel cooler when there is air flow because of the latent heat absorbed as the sweat/moisture evaporates. Snakes, not having sweat glands would have much less moisture on their scales to evaporate. As such unless moisture is introduced into the equation, eg through rain, then a snakes body temperature should be minimally affected by air flow.

 

[Slateman]

LOL I have name for all my snakes. I usually give them names depends what they are like. One of my coastal is called stud. He is horny coastal beast. Can't take him to park, I would have to pay to much for snakey child support for him :lol:

I would like to thank to all more experianced people who contributed to this thread. It is most educational. I have to take some of it to hins and tips forum.

 

[junglemad]

Firstly what a good read!
I am considering putting my diamonds outside in my aviary now that second son left the door open and my parrots have joined the wild bush parrots.

My worry was that the hide boxes would get too cold in the winter and i have a heat mat ready for when the temps fall too low. Now i realise i am going to have to do the opposite thing entirely.When you say you need a cold hide spot are we talking about rock crevices etc on the bottom?
Should i be using the parrot breeding boxes as hides at various heights in the of enclosure so the snakes can choose which to be in? Should i be placing shade cloth over the whole thing? We have already had a hot enough day in sydney to kill some mice that were on too high a shelf in the shed that is next to the aviary. Would too much shade cloth stop the breezes from cooling the aviary? Would a layer of plywood under the roof tame the temperature down enough or is the worry direct sunlight rather than heat?

More questions to follow no doubt

 

[serpenttongue]

I wont feed if its cold and windy, regardless of whether or not the suns out, as the cold wind blowing across their bodies keeps them from warming up.

Won't wind cool the body only if moisture is involved? As humans with sweat glands we feel cooler when there is air flow because of the latent heat absorbed as the sweat/moisture evaporates. Snakes, not having sweat glands would have much less moisture on their scales to evaporate. As such unless moisture is introduced into the equation, eg through rain, then a snakes body temperature should be minimally affected by air flow.

My diamonds can bask for hours in the sun, but as long as its cold and windy, with the wind blowing throughout their enclosure, they wont heat up by basking. Hours after basking their bodies are still as cold as when they emerged. Thats why on cold, windy days they will bask for much longer periods, they're having trouble heating up.

If you took a nice warm python out of a heated enclosure and went outside with it on a cold windy day, wouldnt its body temperature drop quickly in the cold wind? I'd say yes. And then wouldnt it have trouble raising its body temp back up again while remaining in the cold wind? I'd say yes again. I've tried this with Olives and Carpets in the past and it happens. Their body temps drop and cannot be raised back up.

 

[herptrader]

If it is cold, sure they will be the temperature of their environment. If however it is warm and windy they will again the temperature of their environment and I would suggest, just on the basis of physics, minimally affected by the wind unless of course moisture/latent heat is involved.

I agree that if they were warmer than the air due to basking (or having been warm inside) they would loose the difference in temperature quicker with wind but I believe this effect would be marginal unless the temperature difference was great.

I wont feed if its cold and windy, regardless of whether or not the suns out, as the cold wind blowing across their bodies keeps them from warming up.

Won't wind cool the body only if moisture is involved? As humans with sweat glands we feel cooler when there is air flow because of the latent heat absorbed as the sweat/moisture evaporates. Snakes, not having sweat glands would have much less moisture on their scales to evaporate. As such unless moisture is introduced into the equation, eg through rain, then a snakes body temperature should be minimally affected by air flow.

My diamonds can bask for hours in the sun, but as long as its cold and windy, with the wind blowing throughout their enclosure, they wont heat up by basking. Hours after basking their bodies are still as cold as when they emerged. Thats why on cold, windy days they will bask for much longer periods, they're having trouble heating up.

If you took a nice warm python out of a heated enclosure and went outside with it on a cold windy day, wouldnt its body temperature drop quickly in the cold wind? I'd say yes. And then wouldnt it have trouble raising its body temp back up again while remaining in the cold wind? I'd say yes again. I've tried this with Olives and Carpets in the past and it happens. Their body temps drop and cannot be raised back up.

 

[buck]

If it is cold, sure they will be the temperature of their environment. If however it is warm and windy they will again the temperature of their environment and I would suggest, just on the basis of physics, minimally affected by the wind unless of course moisture/latent heat is involved.

I agree that if they were warmer than the air due to basking (or having been warm inside) they would loose the difference in temperature quicker with wind but I believe this effect would be marginal unless the temperature difference was great.

I wont feed if its cold and windy, regardless of whether or not the suns out, as the cold wind blowing across their bodies keeps them from warming up.

Won't wind cool the body only if moisture is involved? As humans with sweat glands we feel cooler when there is air flow because of the latent heat absorbed as the sweat/moisture evaporates. Snakes, not having sweat glands would have much less moisture on their scales to evaporate. As such unless moisture is introduced into the equation, eg through rain, then a snakes body temperature should be minimally affected by air flow.

My diamonds can bask for hours in the sun, but as long as its cold and windy, with the wind blowing throughout their enclosure, they wont heat up by basking. Hours after basking their bodies are still as cold as when they emerged. Thats why on cold, windy days they will bask for much longer periods, they're having trouble heating up.

If you took a nice warm python out of a heated enclosure and went outside with it on a cold windy day, wouldnt its body temperature drop quickly in the cold wind? I'd say yes. And then wouldnt it have trouble raising its body temp back up again while remaining in the cold wind? I'd say yes again. I've tried this with Olives and Carpets in the past and it happens. Their body temps drop and cannot be raised back up.

Probably why he says cold and windy as you have originally quoted him as saying. He never said that he wouldn't feed if it was warm and windy.

 

[zen]

D.P.S

Herptrader said:-

Won't wind cool the body only if moisture is involved?

No (IMO).
If a cold wind blows over a body, the body will surely cool.

Serpenttongue did specify (as Buck pointed out) that he would only not feed when it was "cold & windy".
Of course warm & windy will not cool to the same extent!

Herptrader, you're absolutely right in saying that 'wind-chill-factor' is greatly increased when the subject/body is wet or moist.
However, my personal observations indicate that reptiles avoid the wind when basking, suggesting that they are affected by 'wind-chill-factor'.
It's hard to find any reptiles basking in windy spots, even on sunny days.
They seem to prefer sheltered positions in strong wind.

But I think we're getting way off topic with the wind factor.

 

[reptililian]

But I think we're getting way off topic with the wind factor

Still, it's all part of what we should be taking into consideration for correct diamond husbandry, and relevant as serpenttounge mentioned wind being a consideration for whether or not he fed his diamonds that week. It's more appropriate than the tangent we scooted off down re names of pythons! You should smack us on the hand for that one, Zen! :wink:

 

[herptrader]

I appoligise for directing this most interesting thread off topic.

There are quite a few gems in here and I have learned a lot reading them, particularly ST's input.

I am convinced that even in Melbourne diamond's would do better outside .. certainly better than in a centrally heated house.

The heat loss thing is one of my pet topics as many seem to forget that humans are very different to reptiles. We have evolved to effectively heat ourselves by burning energy and cool ourselves by sweating with the result that we all keep our body temperature to within a few degrees of normal regardless of the temperature of our environment.

Reptiles on the other hand use the environment to control their temperature. The point I had intended to make was that a dry snake with a body temperature 22C, sitting on a rock at 22C, in a howling gale the air temperature of which also being 22C would not change its temperature at all where as a human would be signifcantly cooled because of surface moisture on their body. If you take out the air movement component (ie: the howling gale) the effect on the snakes temperature is unchanged but the human will feel a lot more comfortable.

The wind may of course put diamonds off feeding for other reasons. It may interfere with there heat sensing pits for example.