Pushing issues

[dkatz4]

Having rubbing issues (still) Irwin, my 4 1/2-year-old male central American, nosing like crazy at all of the gaps/edges of the sliding glass doors. So far all I can do is apply weatherstripping to the edges and gaps to keep him from doing any more damage to his nose, but I’d really prefer to fix it at the root.
Snake is just over 4 1/2 feet long housed in a 4 x 2 x 18“. Substrate is Coco chips, humidity is usually in the mid to high 60s, fluctuating a bit recently because our heat is it drying out the air more quickly than usual. Warm side is 88/89, cool side 78/79. Has a warm side hide and climbing tree. Not sure how much it makes a difference but I have a female in the tank just above his. She is only about 2 1/2 years old although she is definitely nowhere near large enough to breed I don’t know if she has any sort of sexual maturity that might be resulting in pheromones and what not… I know very little about breeding because I have no intention to ever do it but I know that randy males sometimes push.

[richardhind1972]

Yep deffo horny lol.
My males have been at the glass pretty much all the time as if they want feeding since end of September, there also lots of females in the room too .
You may of also noticed sperm plugs in the Viv or water dish

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[Skyrivers]

I thought boas in general liked cooler temps. 70-75 cooler side and 80-85 hot side. I am sure someone will chime in here.

Quick search to check my information.

"There is no set perfect temperature for boa constrictors, rather it is more of ranges of acceptable temperatures. A hot side of your setup should usually range from 87 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit and the cold, or unheated side, of your enclosure should not reach below 75 degrees Fahrenheit."

[KevinK]

I thought boas in general liked cooler temps. 70-75 cooler side and 80-85 hot side. I am sure someone will chime in here.

Quick search to check my information.

"There is no set perfect temperature for boa constrictors, rather it is more of ranges of acceptable temperatures. A hot side of your setup should usually range from 87 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit and the cold, or unheated side, of your enclosure should not reach below 75 degrees Fahrenheit."

80/90 is a great gradient with a boa, pretty much the standard I feel like. My Hog (which are known to prefer slightly cooler temps) has a cool side of 78 and loves it though.

I 100% agree with Richard though, and if you want to test out the theory.....take a shed from your female and put it in his cage. See if he responds, but I HIGHLY suspect he will. If that's the case you might have to move your female. The temps dropping this time of year along with the proximity to your female will trigger the mating response.

[Skyrivers]

80/90 is a great gradient with a boa, pretty much the standard I feel like. My Hog (which are known to prefer slightly cooler temps) has a cool side of 78 and loves it though.

Thanks.

[EL-Ziggy]

I had no ideas boas pushed like that. Hope your boy settles down soon!

[richardhind1972]

Yes most animals will especially when hormones are involved, it's like a horny teenager.

Luckily mine have never marked there face ,some can make a right mess, alot go off there food too

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[dkatz4]

Today i padded all the edges and gaps of the doors with foam, when i snuck in to spy on him he was pushing at it like a dummy. This is soo frustrating. Is there any kind of fix for this besides not having the female around? My cage setup is not really designed to come apart, although if i could separate them, how far would they have to be? Would it even help now that he's "in the mood"? And finally, how long does this last, 'till spring??
Thanks so much for al the help, folks.

[dkatz4]

Still A bit swollen, I was able to apply some ointment under his lip and I’ll switch the substrate over the paper for the time being, really hoping this doesn’t necessitate a vet visit

[bcr229]

How much do you have him out every day? When my retics pushed I found that getting them out of their enclosures and into the front yard (it was warm) for exercise for 45-60 minutes every day really helped settle them down. Obviously it's too cold now for that, but maybe you can just take him out and hold him for an hour or so each evening.