General Question Regarding Diamond Pythons Setup

[Clyde and bonnie]

Hello, i'm new to the reptile world and im interested in the diamond pythons and i have some questions regarding lighting/heating.

1) what should i do regarding lights during the night? do i turn them off or leave them on?

2) I've been reading and its says that its best to have a globe that doesn't emit heat, I've got a normal heating globe that is fairly bright, does this matter?

3) i have a large enclosure and know that diamond pythons like to be in cooler temps then other pythons, i have a top section and a bottom section (the bottom is twice the size as the top) and was wondering weather having a warming bottom section and a cooler top section would work for a diamond python?

4) i've been looking at some pythons outer state and i was wondering how well is freighting, does it harm the snake, and is it a good idea?

Thanks

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

I can only tell you what I do as I'm sure there will be other opinions or methods employed by plenty of people on the subject.

1. Turn them off. Are assume you talking lights for replicating day/night or do you refer to the heat source? I turn them off at night regardless but lights provided for day/night are on for a far longer period than the heat source. I use low output CFL to try to replicate daylight hours. (Timed in association to what is happening outside at any given time of year).

2. Some light globes can be particularly bright in my opinion and is why I use low output CFL, I think 7w from memory. When I built the enclosures I put multi fittings in but have ended up using only 1 in each. LED strip lights might be better but the last build I did specifically for Diamonds these weren't particularly common. There are plenty of papers that sit on each side of the fence regarding lighting types, the use of UV, brightness etc. Its really up to you to research & decide where the data takes you.

3. What you suggest is sort of what I have. I provide a single heated area which is around 35% up from the bottom of the enclosure. I use incandescent globes to provide the heat source wired up to the underside of a shelf. The animal can then choose to go for belly heat or overhead heat. (They seam to use it more for belly heat). Heat is only provided for a few hours per day, up to 6 in summer and as low as 3 or 4 in winter).

Hope this helps.