(Morelia Spilota spilota)
Written by Ritchie
http://www.ritchiereptiles.com
RANGE
South East Australia, found in the vicinity of Taree, New South Wales, South through the coast of NSW to the eastern tip of Victoria. It ranges below the 37th parallel. It is the furthest south of any other python taxons.
SIZE
Adult females reach 6 - 7 1/2 feet, while the males are generally a foot shorter.
DESCRIPTION
This is a python with moderate size and weight.
The head is distinctly wider than the neck.
The Body is slightly laterally compressed.
This is a black or dark blackish snake with yellow or ivory spot on each scale.
In some animals the spots are larger, giving the specimen a peppered look.
In others the spots are really small or even missing, making the animal look very dark.
Dorsal and lateral blotches run the length of the body.
These pale or yellow blotches are surrounded by solid black scales.
The underside of the snake is white, yellow or ivory.
TEMPERATURE
In the wild the climate they live in is a subtropical to temperate one. During winters, night time lows(NTL) are about 45 - 50F. Daytime highs (DTH) are 65-70. During the summers, (NTL) 70 - 75F, and (DTH) 80 - 85F. It is very necessary for these snakes to be hybernated and have the right hybernation temperatures in order for the males to produce viable sperm.
HABITS & HABITAT
The climate that these snakes live in is relatively cool by most python standards and they get occasional winter low temperatures below freezing.
These pythons are often found in forested and rocky rugged country. Reaserchers studied the movements of radio tagged diamond pythons in two steep-sided rocky canyons covered in dry schleropyll forest.
They learned that these snakes utilized different parts of the habitat with each season. The pythons spent their winter in crevices on north-facing outcrops. Weather permitting, they would occasionally come out and bask.
Once spring arrives the adult males continually travelled searching for females that are reproductively active.
During this time the males can be found in heavily forested bottom areas. Once females mated, they often tend to move into open grassy areas near creeks.
The males and non reproductive females would then move to the best feeding grounds. In the wild, diamond pythons are athletic snakes. They are very capable climbers, but only infrequently are they found in trees.
Nevertheless always provide your snakes with limbs to climb on.
LIGHTING
These snakes don't need anything special in terms of lighting.
All they need are light periods that follow our four seasons, long summerdays and short winter nights.
FEEDING
In the wild the diet of juveniles is comprised of 69% mammals, 23% reptiles and 8% birds.
As they mature, they incorporate more and more mammals into their diets.
The males and gravid females tend to not eat during the spring breeding season. When I had mine, I fed them mice, rats, birds and sometimes any lizards I happen to capture. But that's me. You can feed yours just mice and rats if you so desire. These snakes, or at least the ones I had were awesome eaters.
They ate just about anything I put in front of them. Only thing to remember is to not over feed them to the point of obesity. Also do not feed them during the winter hybernation period.
SEXING
Researchers have found di morphic differences in spur size, with the males having larger spurs than the females. Females probe with an average of 4-6 subcaudal scales, with the occasional freak of nature probing 9-10 subcaudals. Males probe 10+ subcaudals.
Probing should be done very gently. The reason for this is because the females have a thin walled accessory gland, which when entered with a probe can easily be perforated. Once perforated, the female will robe over 15 subcaudals simulating a male.
BREEDING
Reaserchers report that both sexes appear to mature by the time they are five feet in length. Males undergo testicular enlargement during the winter months. After breeding season ends, the gonads return to their dormant size.
In the wild, it has been recorded that up to 6 males are found near a reproductively active female. One important note for breeders, this snake does not need multiple males for fertilization. A
s aforementioned, these snakes need to be "hybernated" for spermatozoa to be properly produced. No feeding during the hybernation period.
Also the temperatures mentioned in earlier paragraphs should be followed. The hybernation period should last about 2-3 months, with 3 months being more preferable.
After hybernation the snakes should be put back into room temperature for about one week. Make sure to provide a basking spot during the day.
After one week of adjusting and warming up, go ahead and raise the temperature to DTH of 80-85F.while still remembering to provide the basking spot.
Introduce the male to the female.. This should take place within a week to a month of warming.
During this time it shuld be obvious that the female is at the point of ovulation. This ovulation is demonstrated by a large midbody swelling that last 8-24 hours.
Clutch sizes can range from 9 - 54 eggs, with the average around 20 - 23. The eggs can be artificially incubated at high humidity at around 88 - 92F. The eggs will take about 50 - 67 days to hatch. Lastly make sure to breed the females onle every other year in order to give them the much needed rest they require.
Extra information submitted by J_riley
The following information has been summarized and condensed from various readings including
pythons.net
DIAMOND SYNDROME
This is a peculiar affliction that apparently has been seen in diamond pythons in their early adult years. Many start with symptoms of a respiratory condition.
They are usually "chronic" and do not respond to antibiotic therapy. After a while they seem to develop britle bones from a calcium reduction, in some cases ribs will crack under little pressure and the skin begins to get soft and loose feeling almost flabby.
Many experienced keepers keep this snake like a colubrid instead of a python!
Temperatures will never reach the high 80s or 90 degrees rather erring on the side of the middle 70s and low 80s.
These snakes are extremely durable at low temperatures. Look at the temperatures occuring in their natural environment.
Next is possibly the
uvb requirements of diamonds.
No one is exactly sure if diamonds need
uvb exposure and the consenses is still out however breeders that have had success start supplementing vitamins d & e with juvenile specimens after the first feeding instead of
uvb lighting.
This done within the first year will presumably fill the specimens growing skeleton sufficiently With essential calcium to support life into adulthood and facilitate strong bones.
U.S. breeders raise their offspring WAY too fast.
In the hopes of capitalizing on their investment breeders will keep snakes at higher temperatures and feed their offspring often to induce faster than normal growth rates.
This may be a fatal mistake with diamonds. In fact a couple of successful breeders actually cool their young snakes and do not try and raise an adult in two or three years. They will raise them to adults in 4 years or longer.
This supposedly lets the snake grow at a sufficient rate in comparison with its skeleton maturity and its skin cells and does not stretch fat reserves before necessary.
To recap countering "diamond syndrome":
#1-Supplement juvies with calcium, d and e supplements. One that might be useful is mineral I from sticky tongue farms.
#2-do not keep them at high temperatures.
#3-cool juveniles and young every year regardless of breeding intentions.
#4-do not try to raise them fast as other python species.
#5-uvb natural sunlight may be of benefit hey it cant hurt!
3 times weekly in fall and spring when its not too hot.
Or use the NEW active heat lamp.
They should be kept with a warm spot around 82-85 and temperatures hovering in the low to mid 70s.
In fact spots in the 60s are fine as well for a larger gradient of temperatures. Hide boxes are utilized and they also like to climb.
HUMIDITY
Humidity requirements are medium to high reaching between 65and 75%.
Enclosures however should not become too wet.
Substrate can be any number of things from moss and mulch to newspaper or reptile carpets.
It should be kept clean and dry no matter which you use. They do like to soak occasionally and a large water container can be given especially when shedding. They feed well on rodents as adults eating large rats or smaller rabbits and guinea pigs.
They average between 6 and 8 feet in length.
BREEDING
Temperatures should be gradually reduced until 50 degrees is reached.
Many breeders have infertile eggs even going as low as the lower 60s so temps lower than this must be acheived.
In addition animals that have NOT been cooled as juveniles and young then cooled for breeding will develop chronic respiratory condition.
So it is important to expose smaller animals to cooler temps during winter months for future breeding successes. Any how a small supplemental heat source may be used at night. Day temps should reach the 70s.
These temperatures should be maintained for a couple of months and males may be introduced before the warm up period.
During the warm up period the male should not be fed. Females will ovulate and if successful breeding has occured sheding will commence after which about 20-30 days they will lay betwen 15 and 25 eggs.
Larger clutches have been recorded and as many as 50!
Eggs icubated at 88 will hatch in about 50 days. However they may need to be incubated at lower temperatures than most other pythons but not lower than 85,86 being a good number.
At these temps it may take between 60 and 70 days to hatch. The babies do not look like the adults being very drab and dull without speckling.
They start to develope coloring around 6 months of age. Juveniles may refuse pink mice and prefer lizards.
Skinks are a common food item.
The best method is by scenting pink mice with either frogs or lizards that have been boiled and then cooled.
The pink mice can then be dipped in the goo and these may be taken. Again they should be raised fairly slow adults should breed around 4-5 years of age instead of 2-3 as typical now.
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