How To- Diamond Hibernation

[pyalda]

Hey all,
Ive had this diamond since 2012 and shes never had any issues apart from mites which i usually get rid of in about a week. so all in all, shes been healthy for ages, however she was bred last year and i have never got the chance to hibernate her being that my exams and assignments usually if not always fall in June. I know hibernation is a must with diamonds (some say optional) but I believe it should have been done already if not several times.
Ive been searching this forum and others on answers and like all forums people get side tracked and a straight a answer is never formed.
So for me and all the people out there with this exact question.....how do i go about hibernating her?
I understood that it had to be in a dark place (hide of some sort in a tub or enclosure), cold enough for her to shut down and sleep (turn off heat possibly remove heating mat etc) and access to water but no food to ensure that she has fully digested her last meal (clean internals).
This does make sense however i cant help but feel a bit iffy with this in regards to health. The last thing i would want her to get is RI or some other sickness. I already lost a snake to RI (unhelpful vet) and i dont want to go through that again.
after searching a little apparently thats not the way to go about it???
I cant be the only person her who is trying to hibernate their diamond, i have reasons to believe people have done this with great success. please let me know if you've done this before and what would the best way to go about it.
as usual, any info......(that is to the straight to the point) will be greatly appreciated!
-Phil

 

[kittycat17]

All my snakes brumate (this is what reptiles to, not quite a full hibernation like bears etc)
At the moment they are all on less than 8 hrs of heat a day (so they can still bask and stop those pesky RIs) and I let the night time heat drop, but not to much, I let it go down to 14-17 degrees last season at the reccomendatition of some keepers and suffered RIs as a consequence so now I don't let it drop further than 20 degrees
You should drop the heat gradually to simulate what is happening in the wild and defintely make sure they have time to fully digest the previous meal before fiddling with the temps


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[Pauls_Pythons]

I winter (or brumate) all animals after the 1st year. (Diamonds can go way cooler than 14-18 and RI can be brought on by more than just temp. Often cold draughts are the cause)
On a side note......If you have had more than one issue with mites on the same animal in such a short period of time there is something wrong.
Either you are not managing to kill them off completely or the infestation is originating from elsewhere and moving to the animal.

 

[pyalda]

oh ok thanks guys, shes on about 21 ish on the hotspot. would that be ok to rid the chances of RI.
and, PAULS_PYTHONS; shes only got mites once and i got rid of them completely (i know the signs), and the coastal i had got mites about 2-3 times due to wild lizard and other animal infestations which he caught.

 

[pyalda]

and are there any signs that show the hibernation went well or that they even hibernated. i cant help but feel that she isnt shutting down (if that makes sense). seems the same only i know shes colder

 

[Buggster]

Sorry to hijack the post, but it is related to brumation-
I've been gradually reducing heat for my guys since March-ish, and I'm only leaving it at 2hrs a day of heat (raised to about 18-20ish).
(Woma and Stimson) are both sitting at 14-15degrees for pretty much the entire day. They're both in insulated tubs so the temp is pretty consistent and they don't have any drafts coming in.

Too cold or...? My Diamond is the only one who still has heat as he's only new to the family, but he does run on a day/night cycle so at night the temps can drop to 14-17 and where he isn't nearly as active as before, he's much more alert than the other two

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

and are there any signs that show the hibernation went well or that they even hibernated. i cant help but feel that she isnt shutting down (if that makes sense). seems the same only i know shes colder

They don't hibernate.
They slow down & stop eating. Its a period for mating & recharging the battery's so to speak. (Particularly burning off excess fat).
Should still come out to heat up during the 'warm' period of the day, so you should still offer a daytime hot spot of around 34/35 for a FEW hours every day.

 

[pyalda]

Ok sweet, thanks for the help, i appreciate it. I've got her sitting on about 18-20 day and night. I'll give her 30 like Paul's in the day for a few hours when I get the chance. And start feeding again once winter diminishes. And I'm assuming I should not be handling her at all??
Cheers all

 

[cement]

Paul has it right.
Any wonder people get RI in their snakes with such low basking site temps. Trust me, Ive been recording data on wild diamonds for over a decade as a local snake catcher in Gosford and in winter they can access temps much hotter then 20 odd degrees.

quote- "I understood that it had to be in a dark place (hide of some sort in a tub or enclosure), cold enough for her to shut down and sleep (turn off heat possibly remove heating mat etc)"

I am sorry but this wrong info and detrimental to your snake, a sure fire way to deliver a nice dose of pneumonia and dollars spent at the vet.

With regard to diamonds - Do not give them heat at night, but always give them a basking site of 30-35 degrees during the day. In summer 6-8 hrs a day, in autumn 4-6 hrs, in winter 2-4 hrs, in spring 4-6 hrs. You can through winter, turn the heat off fully for a few days at a time once a month to replicate what happens in the wild when we get the east coast low pressure systems with the cold sou'westers.

All beginners should be taught that snakes NEED heat. They have to be able to raise their temps to above 24-25 degrees every so often to keep their immunity strong. Snakes search out heat in winter, they have the ability to find it, in roofs wrapping around chimney flues, by basking in the sun in sheltered sites out of the wind etc. Do an experiment if you don't believe me and find a sun trap, (a place where full sun hits and out of the wind) and record the temperature. You'll notice that 30 degrees is easily reached, especially if the surface is black. Diamonds have the best ability of all our pythons to withstand cool periods, they have to or they would not exist, but they can still get RI.
A note for all budding snake relocators -- If your picking up pythons at this time of year, and relocating them into new areas away from where you find them, be very careful where you release them. They will need time to orientate themselves to an area they don't know, and you could very well be condemning them to death if they can't get established and suffer a few weeks of cold east coast low pressure.

Hope this helps save a few pets.

 

[pyalda]

finally a straight answer!!! thanks budy. i really really appreciate it.!!!
and thank you all for the help.
sorry for the late response

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

finally a straight answer!!! thanks budy. i really really appreciate it.!!!
and thank you all for the help.
sorry for the late response

Sorry. I thought I had given you a straight answer.