Diamonds and Temperature

[Nome]

Hi Rob....

You will probably absolutely FREAK when i tell u this! :S

I have had my diamond for 5 months, he was born last august.

I had no heating for him until the end april/beginning of may (my lil bro bought me a heat rock for my b'day) i now have a heat rock for him which i leave on all the time. Sometimes i find him curled up next to it, sometimes he is in a branch, sometimes he is up close to his light (a normal fish tank light) and other times he is curled up next to his scenery stuff......

does this mean he is controlling his own temperature?? i live on the Mid North Coast of NSW in a sub-tropical area. we have LOTS of wild diamonds around here....

it got cool in the months of march/april and as i said....the heat rock didnt go in till beginning of may. He is very happy since tho, and i have noticed that he has had a growth spurt. Should i turn the heat rock off?? or leave him to adjust himself? we are having/about to have a real cold snap here.... suggestions?

(sorry to be a pain...but im just worried like everyone else)

I wouldn't recommend this for anyone. You should be properly set up with a heat source before you get a snake....not wait till someone gives you one for your birthday. Snakes need heat to digest their food, and probably the only reason your diamond survived so well was that you still had him on mice pinkies.

I'd watch those heat rocks too, especially if you have it on all the time, and not hooked up to a thermostat.

 

[The Rock]

I see what you mean. God thats an ugly mac. not! That form is quite common in a few areas not just cooktown. On the other hand the form I showed, I have only known them to come from one area. All the macs in this area to my knowledge are simular but quite rare.
Dont have a dig camera but will take pics of enclosure set-up when I get the chance.

Rob

 

[The Rock]

Ohhhhh, Look at this, albino blacheads cool huh.!!!!

 

[NCHERPS]

Very impressive looking BHP's.
Rock, do you have more info on them, when were they hatched? Did they survive?
I can't find any info on the 'Moreliagranites.com' website.

 

[The Rock]

I would imagine they survived as they are for sale in the states for 120 grand if im not mistaken.

Rob

 

[bigguy]

Rob,

Interesting thread you started here. Had fun reading it. I think some of the other members have stated the obvious though. Different cooks have different recipes, but if they get the same results in the end who cares.

I do believe you are a bit arrogant stating your ways are the best or only ways. I for one have used thermostats for as long as I can remember, I have never had an accident using them, and my breeding results are second to none. I am just using a different recipe then you use, and like yours, it also works.

As for the mac pic, nice animal. However not a true Blond Mac as you stated if its not from the Pt Douglas to Cooktown race. I was the first to start breeding this particular form of mac and I named them Blond Macs. Similar looking macs from other areas should not be confused with the real Blonds that I named.

Anyhow, nice to see another recognised breeder on this site. Aways good to get different prospectives from breeders to help the newbies on this site learn new keeping and breeding methods.

 

[The Rock]

Bigguy, Please dont get me started on thermostats again as in experienced hands they do work,but are definetly not necessary.In inexperiened hands they can be disasterous. And come on for the amount of years youve been keeping reptiles you would of seen and heard of many herps being cooked by malfunctioning thermostats.Ive seen macs from the top of cape york identical to your cook town stain,and a few of them. How can you call them the only true blond macs when put side by side there is no comparison, these are far more blond than any cooktowns or north capeyork strains. Dont tell me your turnning american and using the name for your stain and your stain only.Thats crap.
Remember,- a little bit of non-violent conflict is good for the heart and grows an extra pair of puds for the soul.
Rob

 

[The Rock]

Bigguy, Please dont get me started on thermostats again as in experienced hands they do work,but are definetly not necessary.In inexperiened hands they can be disasterous. And come on for the amount of years youve been keeping reptiles you would of seen and heard of many herps being cooked by malfunctioning thermostats.Ive seen macs from the top of cape york identical to your cook town stain,and a few of them. How can you call them the only true blond macs when put side by side there is no comparison, these are far more blond than any cooktowns or north capeyork strains. Dont tell me your turnning american and using the name for your stain and your stain only.Thats crap.
Remember,- a little bit of non-violent conflict is good for the heart and grows an extra pair of puds for the soul.
Rob

 

[Guest]

Those albino bhps took me by surprise who would of thought the look amazing hey!!

 

[bwana]

Diamonds and Temperature.

Hey Guys,
I actually show bigguy his first Blonde mac. in 1986-87.
It came from Kuranda not port or cooktown.
I have seen one other at kuranda in 1994. One stunner at Mareeba in 98. One from the gilles range near Gordonvale also in 98-99. Also they are found 10kms from my home Ravenshoe nth Queensland, Silver Valley near Mt Garnet has awesome blondes. Cooktown has ugly mac's as well as nice blondes.
They grow at larger than normal mac's and I recently saw one that the guy claimed was 5 foot but was 46 inches, pretty big anyway.
We all referred to them as blonde mac's before Bob had even saw one!
Not being rude Bob just stating a fact.
Brian.

 

[Liccy]

well...the way i see it....he gets a lot of sunlight ..... he is near the window and gets some nice morning sun in the winter..and afternoon sun in summer... i am reluctant to try too many of the fancy technological things as there is too much confusion and contradiction about the use of UV etc.

 

[Nome]

Heat for a snake isn't a fancy technology thing....it's a basic need. You are keeping it in an artificial environment so you needed a hot spot where it can go to digest it's food. A heat mat or heat lamp is all you need, nothing technological about it. Sun through a window isn't enough. Very unreliable and a good way to cook your snake in summer.

 

[Hickson]

well...the way i see it....he gets a lot of sunlight ..... he is near the window and gets some nice morning sun in the winter..and afternoon sun in summer... i am reluctant to try too many of the fancy technological things as there is too much confusion and contradiction about the use of UV etc.

Incidentally, windows stop UV from passing through, so if he's near a closed window, don't assume he's getting UV 'coz he won't be.



Hix

 

[webby]

i agree, it seems you are being very careless with your new snake. take some advise from some who know, and i dont mean just listen to me. there are alot of herpers here to give you advise. dont leave your snake where the light from the sun sits for any period of time, you will most likley "cook" your snake. the best way i have found to give your loved pets some UV is to take them outdoors for about 20-30 mins a week, at least. then they get a bit of excercise too. uv lamps are proven to be usless, if you choose to use one, your animal has to sit within 2-3 inches of the bulb to get any real uv from it. a little "walk" outside does wonders for the animal and keeps them looking stunning.... happy herping....

as for you rob, welcome to aps...i think i will be calling you soon too... hope you dont mind, i just want to see your views on breeding diamonds as our pair should definatley go off this year... call tomorrow night.. thanx

 

[junglemad]

diamonds

Liccy your little diamond needs a shielded light more than a heat rock.
It needs a hide where it feels snug .i use a little cardboard box with a hole cut in the side. the snake's body touches all four side of the box
It needs branches to climb close to the light and further away if need be
It needs a waterbowl
It needs a basking rock under the light
it needs a thermostat set to 30 degrees with a probe next to the basking rock
it needs something on the floor..i used to use mulch now i use newspaper

 

[The Rock]

RE: diamonds

Does NOT need a thermostat.!!!! Take that. Some where warm some where cool. Problem solved.
Ok, for all you thermostat freaks out there heres another reason I dont use them. When a reptile feels a bit under the weather it will seek out wamth, constant warmth, as it may need to hold its body temp at 30-35 for a day or two so its immune system can click in properly and fix the problem. The same thing happens to us from time to time,we go to bed. The trouble with thermostats is that they turn on and off to much which drops and rises their body temp to much and this can easily make the reptile sicker. My snakes rarely if ever get sick because they always have some where warm and cold to go to. Simple. Its always better to solve the problem before it starts.
Rob

 

[junglemad]

RE: diamonds

All this is fine in North Queensland. My brother lives in Townsville and when he visits Sydney he wears a jumper when it is 30 degrees..obviously he has gone troppo. It could be the mangos but i reckon it is that he is overheating himself too
Sydney herpers need thermostats...Thermostats...THERMOSTATS I shout to the four winds!!!! and no i am not on comission.

 

[The Rock]

RE: diamonds

Jungle mad,-If you go back and read the posts properly youll see where I stated that my method of keeping reptiles works better in a COLD climate. Yes most sotherners use thermostats but they definately dont NEED them. Put it this way, to this day I have never raised a snake from juvinile to adult and not bred it, I have also over the years being given adult animals to to try and bred for people who had not being able to bred them,they all bred the first season I had them. Im not saying Im magic or any thing its just the way I keep my animals. Look I personally dont give a stuff how everyone keeps thier animals, Im just pointing out in my adement opinion, a better,cheaper more effective way to keep snakes. Take heed or not Idont care. But the proof is in the pudding.
Rob

 

[NoOne]

It may be a more effective way for you to keep them it doesn't mean its best for everyone.
Just because you keep snakes without therms means nothing to me, i know people who keep without them and they do just fine, with my situation and way of keeping i can control cage temps alot better using therms, giving a hotspot of about 34c and a cool end of about 27c, my snakes are perfectly heathly and breed.
You have to take into acount peoples houses where the snakes are being kept, my house get very hot in summer afternoons if i didn't have therms they would over heat during the day, no question.
I'm not at home 24/7 to control dimmers and moniter cages, therms give me sercurity so i know that they won't overheat while i'm out.
In nearly 12yrs i've never had a faulty therm.

This is my way of keeping and i've come to it over the years just like yourself doesn't mean my way is the only way, it's what suits my situation best.

 

[junglemad]

Let's refocus...we are talking about a new member who has been keeping a snake poorly and hasn't even had a heat source apart from the sun which loses any u/v value shone through a single thin sheet of glass...and now has a heat rock only.
A simple cage set-up like mine would keep her diamond happy and healthy and she can worry about thermostat roulette next season.
just a thought