nose rubbing

what can be done to stop nose rubbing? my lesser male is rubbing hard on the glass and wood of his enclosure. i switched him from a sterilite tub to a larger enclosure. temps and humidity are good, should i not attempt to breed him while he continues to do this? his face is swollen from the rubbing.

There are several ways to help decrease stress.

They will typically nose rub due to STRESS, hunger, or some kind of discomfort.

1) Ensure there are plenty hides (2 or 3).
2) Ensure you have no line of sight to him. Cover the sides of the enclosure with dark paper.
3) Crumple strips of newspaper into large wads of paper, and place it around the enclosure so he can feel them while he's moving. This can make him feel like he's completely covered already.

If you're confident enough to try this, you could try to inspect his mouth to see if there are any sores or an anything unusual that could cause discomfort. Look closely around the teeth to see if there is bleeding or swelling. I had a nose rubber but the crumpled newspaper rolls did the trick for me :D.

i have looked in his mouth several times and applied some saline solution and a weak iodine solution to his "gums" to try to reduce some of the swelling/ prevent infection because his upper and lower jaw were not seated together at a point (lasted about a day) due to the rubbing. His head is swollen mostly on top of his nose and his eyes look shrunken due to the swelling of the tissues around them. i will definitely try the newspaper thing and provide another hide. should i keep him away from the breeding females?

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Originally Posted by hypersomniacjoo

should i keep him away from the breeding females?

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Personally, I would first try to relieve some of the stress. Leave him be unless you need to clean his home or feed him. Check on the swelling every day, but don't remove him from the enclosure.

The clown that game with a nose rub had no swelling.. Just a raw nose.. Hopefully the home-brew helps to keep the mouth clean. I've been told that I'm one of those people who take their animal to the vet for anything.. The way I see it, I either pay for peace of mind or I could save my animal's life... Both are worth the vet bill and visit to me :D. With that said, I know some people are NOT like me. I hope the swelling goes down and he feels more comfy in his home :gj:. If it gets worse, I wouldn't hesitate to get some real medication from the vet.

I would do everything h00blah said in his first post. Also how big is he and what size tub do you have him in now? You may need to get a smaller tub for him.

I noticed my BP was rubbing his nose just moments before a shed... That's the only time I've noticed this behavior.

Are you positive this animal doesn't have mites?

a couple of my snakes had mites a few months back. i treated all of the snakes and still use pam everytime i change a box out. he is a 600g proven breeder (one baby lol but it was a double sire) and he seems completely disinterested in the ladies since he bred my normal girl last year. he was 800gs but went off feed completely for the winter (from november to april when i offered him a hamster because i was so worried about how thin he was getting). additionally, he only eats mice, not rats.

he's in an melamine enclosure that is 1 foot deep, 2 feet tall, and 4 feet long. everyone else is in sterilite in a rack. he was in the rack but i noticed he was rubbing on his 41 qt. underbed (not under the bed, in the rack) sterilite so i switched him to the bigger enclosure.

I would try putting him in a smaller tub. Something 28-32 qts


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