Heat Rock temp for Diamond python (newbi)

[Gruni]

Yep fair enough, I wasn't aware Diamonds went quite so far south or that far into the Snowy Mountains. I'm still dubious as I have friends locally whose young Carpets developed RI in enclosures inside the house two winters ago both ended up dying as they had to be force fed for several months afterwards.

I personally wouldn't risk it and I also don't consider it over the top to consider it highly possible in our local climate that a yearling or younger would be at high risk during a winter in an outside enclosure, and I have no intention of forking out $200+ just to find out which of us is right.

 

[thomasssss]

Yep fair enough, I wasn't aware Diamonds went quite so far south or that far into the Snowy Mountains. I'm still dubious as I have friends locally whose young Carpets developed RI in enclosures inside the house two winters ago both ended up dying as they had to be force fed for several months afterwards.

I personally wouldn't risk it and I also don't consider it over the top to consider it highly possible in our local climate that a yearling or younger would be at high risk during a winter in an outside enclosure, and I have no intention of forking out $200+ just to find out which of us is right.

oh totally agree , i would never go and put a hatchy or yearling into an outdoor enclosure , good chance it might escape as well as any health issues , im just saying their a hell of alot hardier than we give them credit for

 

[jimbo_jones]

Actually you didn't say that at all in your original post, I went back and read it carefully. Also that works for you because you are in the right climate zone for Diamonds if I did that when I get my Diamond it would be dead within the year. The key info the OP needed was what temps to setup for rather than the keyboard lashing some of these posts have verged on. It is one thing to point out that heat rocks are questionable and have had some bad effects but some of the other jabs were harsh at best as he is doing the research, he noticed something that concerned him and he wanted to rectify it.

So what have we actually said that helps the OP... yes your heat rock is too hot, no they don't recommend using a thermostat on the heat rock to control the temp, keep the warm end of your enclosure around 28*.

Where do you live Jimbo? You may find the other way to go about it is get some natural rock or some thicker tiles which you can put under a heat lamp/emitter that will soak in some heat and has a good thermal mass for your snake to curl up on after a feed. My current Mac enclosure will be used for a diamond later this year as Skittles has out grown her tank and I have built her a new enclosure. My average temp sits around 28* with a halogen down light that runs off and on during the day from about 9:00am until 7:30pm and in winter I have a heat mat to help maintain night time temps.

Congrats on getting a great snake and enjoy. How about posting a pic of your snake and your set up?

I live on the south coast in nsw so the outdoor temps here are is natural for it Ive seen them often sunung them self on the bush track when we go camping last time we went camping I saw a red belly black snake sunning its self just behind our camper trailer soon as it saw me it took off.
But Im more worried about the goannas they dont seem to care you your there or not but my staffy keeps them out of the camp.

this is my Bruce he is aprox 6 foot suning himself on the deck

my doughter posing for a pic

bruce feeding on a big rat

his enclosure is still under construction atm so temp housing is in a old fish tank I have a stack of pavers out the back and swap them every arvo as they hold the heat from the sun well I was thinking of making his enclosure a indoor/outdoor one with a hole in the wall with some pvc pipe so he can go in and out as he please.
would this be a good idea he could get natural sun light all arvo and com in when its to hot.

- - - Updated - - -

this will be the indoor side of the enclosure and the bottom section is where he will be feed I wiil be fitting glass sliding doors on the front

bottom section I remove a shelf to make more room

 

[Gruni]

Awesome! I look forward to the pics when that is all setup and happening. Whack a thread in DIY and show a step by step progress.

 

[Cypher69]

have a look at the diamonds range quickly on the net , there all a little different but they all stretch well into victoria and starts around southern NSW

im not saying that we should all push our snakes to their limits regarding temperature im just saying that to think your diamond will die in the first year if its exposed to the temps you've mentioned is a little over the top , they live in areas where temperatures like that are regular through out the winter , they have to be able to cope in some way or they would of died off as a subspecies many years ago

I'm not questioning but more so wondering... It's one thing to say that diamonds in the wild can tolerate a wild range in temperature & conditions HOWEVER we're comparing it to a captive bred species that's probably been bred for several generations indoors, in a tub. Surely the captive breds would have less toleration to extreme temp ranges?

 

[Ramsayi]

What a lot of people seem to fail to recognize is that wild snakes have the opportunity to find appropriate places to escape extremes of temperatures.

Captive bred animals are just as tolerant as their wild relos,it's just that we keep their temps well away from the extremes and closer to their preferred body temp.

 

[bigjoediver]

Simon Stone (Doc Rock) of SXR fame has kept and bred Diamonds for years and has an article on their care on the SXR web site that makes for an interesting read especially when it comes to heating and if uv is required.

+1 for Ramsayi's point re the great outdoors, a 12 cubic foot box isn't a huge amount of environment.

 

[Gruni]

Simon Stone (Doc Rock) of SXR fame has kept and bred Diamonds for years and has an article on their care on the SXR web site that makes for an interesting read especially when it comes to heating and if uv is required.

I just went looking for it but of the 5 articles by Doc Rock none of them appear to be about Diamonds?

 

[bigjoediver]

The article on keeping a healthy python has a couple of paragraphs re diamonds as does the Q&A re UV lighting and snakes. Hadn't read them for a while, mis remembered it as a separate article sorry.

 

[Gruni]

Ah ok I'll have a closer read of them when I get some time.

 

[The_Geeza]

If using an outside enclosure then given plenty of hides to keep out drafts and a heat source via tile cord or whatever at 28/30 giving digestion option and enclose in a position where some sunlight hits part of enclosure during the day then there should be no problems for a diamond not to be happy summer or winter.... Yes not a hatchie tho .... JMO

 

[Gruni]

Hi every one Im new to the forum and to keeping reptiles I have been doing alot of reading here and on another site.
I just recently got my reptile licence and bought a Diamond Python.
I am still building a enclosure for him so I have him in a glass tank.

Jimbo, track down a copy of The Complete Carpet Python, by Mutton and Julander. There is an excellent section specifically on the needs etc of Diamond pythons, including a brief part on DPS.

 

[jimbo_jones]

will do thanks for the help

 

[Gruni]

I just finished the chapter and I have to say I still REALLY want a Diamond and given that I have no plan on building an outdoor enclosure it has given me quite a lot to think about for how I set up my enclosure for the youngster and what I build for when it gets bigger... hmmmmm.

The explaination of DPS is excellent and makes a lot of sense regarding metabolic aging vs chronological age.

I am curious at what age a specimen is regarded as a mature snake as the feed regimen suggested is quite specific for the first two or three years but gets a bit vague after that saying mature snakes only require 8-10 feeds per year (6 weekly).

 

[Stuart]

If you are interested in some decent information about DPS as well, have a look at these two well written threads posted by an APS reader.

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes-37/experiences-dps-65233/
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes-37/experiences-dps-part-2-a-135920/

 

[cement]

There seems to be a lot of misconception about diamonds in this thread.
Diamonds quite enjoy raising their body temps to over the aps recommended guidelines of 28 degrees. And why wouldn't they? They move off when they have had enough.
I've recorded body temperatures of wild diamonds at between 35-40.
The secret is when to provide and for how long.
I have recorded body temps of a wild diamond at 4 degrees during winter. They live in a climate that is very unstable temperature wise, unlike nth Qld which is quite stable. The way they survive these extremes is the key to keeping them, I am also not completely sold on the whole DPS thingy either. In my opinion diamonds are easier/ cheaper to keep then given credit for.

 

[Gruni]

The book I mentioned talks about DPS as esentially a snake prematurely aging due to it's metabolic rate being accelerated through being kept at ambient temperatures suited to northern snakes. It talks about the ambient temps and the basking temps which are quite different and that the heat source should only be active for approximately 7hrs during the main part of the day. It also talks about the importance of having an enclosure that is long enough to provide a distinct difference in temp from the basking spot to the cool end for the snake to be able to withdraw to a cooler spot when it requires it.

Other than providing the climate they sound really quite easy to keep and feed as you say Cement.