Nose & Head Rubbing. Advice please?

[Koiscale451]

Spot (BP) has been rubbing his head on the top of his cage. It is a 10 gallon with 2 hides and some plastic plants and some rocks. A few weeks ago he started rubbing, I re-arranged his plants and hides and he stopped rubbing, but he started up again and now he has a tiny raw spot on the top of his head. He rubbs at the top of the cage and I am worried he will get an infection. So heres the question: Is it time to move on to a 20g? He is about 168 grams and about a foot long, and about 5 months old..

[Sparky1]

No he should still be fine in there for some time, double check your temps it sounds like he is trying to escape. If your temps are to high that could cause it. Does he have a suck shed?

[Koiscale451]

No stuck shed, and the temps are ok, warm side is 90F cool side 79-80F and at night its about 78F.

[MelissaFlipski]

Our Jungle Carpet Python was doing this recently for probably two reasons, 1) trying to escape and 2) stress about enclosure size. We moved him up to triple the size enclosure and he is no longer doing it.

Worth giving it a try.

If he gets really raw, use triple anti-biotic ointment, but NOT Neosporin brand (has an anesthetic that is bad for them) - sparingly. Of course, as usual, as your vet first!

Good luck.

[littleindiangirl]

Our Jungle Carpet Python was doing this recently for probably two reasons, 1) trying to escape and 2) stress about enclosure size. We moved him up to triple the size enclosure and he is no longer doing it.

Worth giving it a try.

If he gets really raw, use triple anti-biotic ointment, but NOT Neosporin brand (has an anesthetic that is bad for them) - sparingly. Of course, as usual, as your vet first!

Good luck.

OK, first off, if a BP is stressing, increasing the enclosure size will most likely put them off feed if they are already stressing about a ten gallon.

[littleindiangirl]

Spot (BP) has been rubbing his head on the top of his cage. It is a 10 gallon with 2 hides and some plastic plants and some rocks. A few weeks ago he started rubbing, I re-arranged his plants and hides and he stopped rubbing, but he started up again and now he has a tiny raw spot on the top of his head. He rubbs at the top of the cage and I am worried he will get an infection. So heres the question: Is it time to move on to a 20g? He is about 168 grams and about a foot long, and about 5 months old..

Can you give us a very descriptive version of the enclosure or better yet a picture of your tank.

How much does this BP weigh, when was the last time he ate and how big?

Where in your house is the tank located? High traffic? Any TV's, other animals, people etc?

Your snake sounds like he doesnt feel safe in the enclosure. One way to help with the stress induced roaming and constant search to get out is to 'fill' the tank with crumpled up newspaper. I mean fill it, give him something to hide in, feel touching him on all sides etc.

BIGGEST QUESTION, how often are you handling him and for how long?

Handling is always the LAST thing to think about when the animal is clearly unhappy. Snakes do not like our company, and merely tolerate us. Once you have established a bond with your snake where they can trust you and no longer see you as a threat will you see them behave in a different more, 'curious' fashion. Remember, this takes time and a lot of patience. When a snake gets stressed and freaks out, it may take a week or more for them to calm down again.

Hope this helps you understand a little better.

[Koiscale451]

Can you give us a very descriptive version of the enclosure or better yet a picture of your tank.

I'll upload a pic onto my photobucket, I'll have it in a few minutes.

How much does this BP weigh, when was the last time he ate and how big?

He is 168 grams, about 19-22 inches (he was not cooperating with the measuring), and he ate Last Saturday and is eating again today (but the rubbing has been going on for a while I don't think its food-related)

Where in your house is the tank located? High traffic? Any TV's, other animals, people etc?

His tank is in my room, and some other animals that are near him are the geckos and he can't see the iguanas. Nobody else really goes in my room except Mom, who likes to check on the gecko eggs.

BIGGEST QUESTION, how often are you handling him and for how long?

I handle him about every other day, for about 15min. to half an hour at most. He has become much tamer since I got him but he does not know anyone else besides me, and it takes him a while to get 'tame' with a new person.

Thanks for the info. Ill get a pic on soon.

[Koiscale451]

Here's his cage:

[MelissaFlipski]

What hides does he have? Looks like the humid hide types. Is there a hide on each side of the heat gradient?

Does he mostly rub his nose/head at a particular time - right after you put him back, etc.?

Yes, a BP is different than a JCP - that is true. Good points, Connie.

Is the screen secure? Or does he think he can benefit (i.e. escape) by rubbing - actually trying to push his way out?

Are there any other symptoms, like soaking in his water for long periods? How is his humidity?

If he is mostly rubbing against the screen, you could help protect him by covering the inside with the old foil and duct tape trick - there is a thread about that around here.

Just a few thoughts.

[littleindiangirl]

Here's his cage:

The most common reasons for a snake to show signs of stress (roaming snake olympics, rubbing nose to get out) or go off feed is husbandry problems.

Ok, so I noticed you do not have a thermometer or hygrometer to measure the temps and humidity. I really suggest you buy one, you should not guess the temps, but know exactly what they are at any time. The Accurite thermometer/hygrometer from Walmart is $11, and works fantastic. Digital is much much better than analog and worth the little bit of money.

Having a digital thermometer/hygrometer unit is the most important part in a cage. You must know what the temps are.

Are you using any other heat source besides the light bulb? I know that the light bulbs SUCK the humidity right out, and you do not have any foil over the screen cover. My guess is you have little to no humidity in the cage.

There should be a UTH on one half of the cage, and a hide should be placed over it. On the cool side (most often where people put the light source) there should be an EXACT duplicate hide to allow the snake to thermoregulate and feel safe in both hides equally.

If you are going to put a UTH on the bottom of the tank, make sure the tank is raised off of the wood surface you have it on. Failing to do so can result in a cracked bottom, or a burn/fire.

You MUST have something to control the UTH source. A thermostat or a rheostat will work great. Some people swear that Reptitemps 500 work great, others say just use a rheostat. It's important to control the heat source to avoid burning your snake.

To control the humidity in the tank (should be at 60%. 70% for sheds) use foil and duct tape on top of the screen. Since your light dome takes up half of the screen, you can do the opposite half. 3 layers of foil, shiny side down, and duct tape around the edges to hold down. If you feel better putting duct tape over all the foil go for it.

The accurite thermometer will have a probe on it. The probe should be in the hot spot hide, or right next to the thermostat/rheostat probe, on the UTH. This ensures that you know how hot it is in your BP's hot hide. The unit itself should be on the cool end, it will be measuring the ambient temps of the tank itself and the humidity.

Substrate can work wonders for keeping humidity up, aspen, coconut bark, cypress mulch, they all work great for tanks. I prefer the look of coconut bark fiber myself. And it's easy to tell when it's too dry. Make sure that whatever substrate you use is not SOAKING WET. It should be damp, like you misted it. Leaving it soaking wet will encourage harmful bacteria growth in those warm and moist conditions and you can develop belly rot.

HOT SPOT: 90
AMBIENT (tank air temp): 80-83
HUMIDITY: 60% or 70% for shedding

Once you have the thermal gradient set up, 2 exactly same hides on each end, water bowl most likely in middle, then you should fill up the tank with your decorations to make the snake feel more secure.

Do not use tape in the enclosure for any reason. I used hot glue to hold down the probes when needed.

I hope you can get back with us on your husbandry. I believe this will really help. If I missed something, please chip in.