Odd behavior - concerned owner

[Karbon]

I have a Cali King, almost 3 years old now. Before you go asking husbandry questions, yes, the enclosure he's in is perfect for a cal king as has been the same for over a year now since I moved him to a 20g long glass tank.

He's eating, drinking and shedding fine, but the weird thing is he's started to really push his noce against the glass with his face.

He used to do it every now and then but lately (the past month) it's gotten alot worse. He's REALLY pushing his face against the glass to the point he makes his nose turn pink. You can tell when you see him doing it that he's putting alot of effort into it.

As any owner would, i'm getting concerned. I don't know what this means and if anyone has any idea / advice it would be greatly appreciated! I am using Aspen for bedding and have been since I got him. He's been eating f/t mice since I purchased him almost 3 years ago.

Like I said, it would be easy if something changed recently but nothing has. I've got no idea what to do
Help!

[dr del]

Hi,

Have you tried covering the back and sides with aquarium backing?

If you have and he is pushing at the front you can also add a strip along the bottom of the front. It's not a cure but can reduce damage by changing where they rub from a corner to a flat section of glass in some cases.

It might be handy to know his age/ size and if the sex is definate etc so that the smarter guys can speak to breeding behaviour and cage size for his size.


dr del

[Karbon]

Hi,

Have you tried covering the back and sides with aquarium backing?

If you have and he is pushing at the front you can also add a strip along the bottom of the front. It's not a cure but can reduce damage by changing where they rub from a corner to a flat section of glass in some cases.

It might be handy to know his age/ size and if the sex is definate etc so that the smarter guys can speak to breeding behaviour and cage size for his size.


dr del

Thanks for the reply dr del.

It's a male for sure and he's a little over 4 ft long and 3 years old. Think the cage may be too small??

I actually did just cover the back and sides of the glass tank with black paper 2 weeks ago but he's still pushing at the glass in the front.

Bleh, my BP is so much easier to figure out!

[dr del]

Hi,

Did you make any other changes to the tank round about the time you noticed him really start doing this a lot?

I ask because I have seen tank changes make the animals re-explore their environment.

[grandpa reminisces on a barrel]
About 15 years ago a friend of mine had a 4 foot florida king in an aquarium with an aquarium hood containing a light tube loosely taped to the top.

I asked why it never escaped and he said it never even tried and had been in the same tank since he got it as a hatchling.

A year or so later he moved the tank from the bedroom to the living room for re-decorating and the snake escaped the very same night.

When he put it back in the tank it simply went straight to the lid it had ignored for years and shoved it off the tank. He had the back and sides covered so the only change from the snakes point of view was the scenery out the front of the tank.

All we could think of was that, when it initially explored the tank, it couldn't reach the lid and never thought to try again as it grew larger until the change of view made it re-examine the environment.
[/grandpa reminisces on a barrel]

Bottom line snakes are a lot more responsive to environmental changes than we realise at times.

But it could also be the search for love that has him all fired up and wanderlusty.


dr del

[Karbon]

I actually put the paper around the edges of the cage to try and stop him from pushing against the glass.

Nothing else has changed for over a year in his tank I keep it all the same.

Maybe he's just 'in season'

It's about the same time he went off-feed last year and he starting to get picky with food again.

[daniel1983]

It is not really breeding season for kings. Most breed in the springtime. Some go 'off feed' this time of year because they can tell winter is here. Natural instinct that is all.

How are you heating? Sometimes heating elements get screwed up. When we think nothing has changes, sometimes they do and we don't realize it. Just a thought.

Kings love to 'test' their enclosures. Maybe you just were not noticing it before?

Is the 'pushing' causing injury to the snake?

[CoolioTiffany]

Is he rubbing the very tip end of his snout on the glass, or rubbing his notrils against the glass?

Also, I may add in that the 20g is just fine for his size, I have my Mexican Black whose a bit over 4 feet long in a 20g and he fits just fine in there.

[Karbon]

Is he rubbing the very tip end of his snout on the glass, or rubbing his notrils against the glass?

Also, I may add in that the 20g is just fine for his size, I have my Mexican Black whose a bit over 4 feet long in a 20g and he fits just fine in there.

He's pushing, not just rubbing, like he's trying to push the glass out or something. The pushing is making his whole nose pink.

I covered the front of his cage with a towel and he;s been quiet all day. I guess I will just have to observe and try different things to see what works.

Heating is a single UTH under one of his hide spots. Temps are good and nothing has changed in his enclosure.