Prioritizing Heat Reduction
Our diamonds are kept in large, modified PVC enclosures with plenty of extra ventilation, basking spots, and places to climb, perch and hide. We primarily use two different enclosure sizes: 6’x4’x2′ and 6’x2’x2′. Enclosure fans, a smart HVAC vent and a smart ceiling fan help to reduce ambient temperature.
Fans
The 2′ tall diamond enclosures include one fan and the 4′ enclosures have one fan on the bottom blowing cooler air in and one on the top blowing air out. The fans are on schedules that run hourly during basking periods. Since our enclosures have glass fronts instead of screens, the fans offer increased temperature control.
Bioactive Substrate
Simple bioactive substrate is used with springtails and isopods. To avoid higher than desired humidity, we pot live plants and don’t use a drainage layer. To aerate the coco coir base, plenty of charcoal and moss are added to the mix. The substrate is topped with oak leaves. Cork rounds and flats offer moist areas for the cleanup crew.
Basking Heat & UVB
Each enclosure includes a low wattage incandescent bulb (two actually but only one is usually active) and an Arcadia ShadeDweller ProT5 7% UV-B fixture. The diamonds choose which basking site works best—usually they prefer to bask under the UVB light. No other heat is offered after the daily basking period.
Extra Vents
Extra vents are added to each diamond enclosure to reduce heat buildup.
Arboreal Hides and Shelves
When possible, we add additional shelves to each enclosure. Hides are installed under the shelves or on the enclosure ceilings. Our snakes much prefer the arboreal-style hides.
