wats the best Heat and U.V for an adult diamond ?? ?? ??

[tree]

Hi,

I'm renovating my diamonds cage and wanted to know wat is best heat wise and wat is best uv wise.

option 1.
I already have an oz bright 160 watt uv and heat light with a reflector basin, is that to strong for a diamond?

option 2.
I buy a 4 foot uv light and i was going to use a ceramic light bulb that ive already got

any advise would be appreciated.

 

[mungus]

Howd'y,
UV not required, but if you do use it, obviously it wont hurt.
160w heat light - wow, all you need is bacon and you have dinner.........lol.
Seriously though, all I use is a frosted down light .
40w in summer.
60w in winter.
Both are directly above a shelve [ basking spot ]. which gives 30-32deg in daylight hours only.
The rest of the enclosure is room temperature.
Diamonds NEED a good temperature gradient.
None of my snakes get night heat unless the females are gravid.
All 2 year olds plus are cooled through winter, whether breeding or not.

 

[notechistiger]

I'd say remove the UV altogether. A couple of hours a week in the sun is fine.

What do the temperatures get to, and how old is the snake?

 

[tree]

cool thanks mungus that maks things alot easyer, so in winter they should nt have any heat ? if she has never been cooled before will she still be able to breed next season ?

 

[tree]

Is there any risk i breeding her next year she is about 6 foot but no were near as big as ive seen over diamonds is there a recommended wieght ?

Cheers

 

[tree]

she will be 4 this season at the moment she is in a 4ftx4ftx1ft cage and she has a heat rock and a 25 w ligtht i have on during the day.

 

[hodges]

I will be supplying my diamond pythons with a reasonable amount of UV output the only reason i am doing so is to lessen the chance of obtaining DPS. Tho you can prevent (or lessen the chance of getting it) this by keeping temps low of course id just prefer this way. Some say you wont need UV others say you will i guess its different from keeper to keeper

Lights i will be using: (Exo Terra Repti Glo 5.0)
http://www.herpshop.com.au/Lighting.html

 

[tree]

this might be a stupid question but wat is dps??

 

[mungus]

cool thanks mungus that maks things alot easyer, so in winter they should nt have any heat ? if she has never been cooled before will she still be able to breed next season ?

Cooling Begins in May through to Mid October approx.
During this time they are not fed.
You still supply day time heat with the a hot spot as previously mentioned.
Cooling occurs when night time temps drop to say 10 deg compared to say night time temps of 20 deg in summer - understand ?
Diamonds breed from 4 years of age as a rule.
The secret to keeping healthy diamonds is,
1/ cooling them.
2/ not over feeding them.
3/ not over heating them, always provide them with a cool area [ the taller the enclosure the better ] - 1800H x 600D x1200W is a good indoor enclosure size.
I also provide a very large container of water - for drinking and swimming.
In the middle of summer when temps in the cool end can get to 28-30 deg for a day here and there, you will find them in the water cooling themselves.
Hope this info helps.

 

[Chimera]

Mungus, I use a 100W Mercury Vapour for 4 hours in summer and 2 hours in Winter. This seems to be quite conducive with their natural behaviour of basking for a few hours a day and retreating to a cool place.

As I've said about MVs and Diamonds before, if your going to use them then provide plenty of ventilation and an elevated basking site.

 

[mungus]

Mungus, I use a 100W Mercury Vapour for 4 hours in summer and 2 hours in Winter. This seems to be quite conducive with their natural behaviour of basking for a few hours a day and retreating to a cool place.

As I've said about MVs and Diamonds before, if your going to use them then provide plenty of ventilation and an elevated basking site.

Elevated basking spot is the key, the higher the better, hence the 1800 high enclosure.
I just have the basking shelf closer to the 40w downlight, untill I have the required temps.
It save me 60w of power per hr x 20 enclosure's.
Why do you provide greater heat in summer than winter ?
In winter I give them a 6 - 8 hrs basking spot at 30 - 32 deg.
2 hr's seems a bit short I feel, but if it works for you thats fine.
Cheers,
Aleks.