def create_timedelta(timespec):
    """Utility function to translate DD:HH:MM:SS into a timedelta object."""
    duration = timespec.split(':')
    seconds = int(duration[-1])
    minutes = 0
    hours = 0
    days = 0

    if len(duration) > 1:
        minutes = int(duration[-2])
    if len(duration) > 2:
        hours = int(duration[-3])
    if len(duration) > 3:
        days = int(duration[-4])

    return datetime.timedelta(days=days, seconds=seconds, minutes=minutes, hours=hours)