Why is my Burm nose rubbing?

[Lferg]

So he just started doing it yesterday. He is a bit over 6 foot and very under weight. Since we took him in there has be a drastic and very noticeable change in his level of activity and general disposition. We have him on a large f/t rat once a week and he takes it with no hesitation now. Seems to be slowly putting on some weight but has definitely brightened up in color and personality. He is in the 55gl we got him in and until yesterday he was very content in there. We gave him a hide and good temps and RH. the top is screen and HE WANTS OUT all of the sudden. Any thought? He loves going outside but aren't these guys normally lazy for the most past?

[Alexandra V]

It could be a number of things; it could be stress for whatever reason, or it could also be that he's getting hungry if feeding day is getting close. What are the dimensions of the tank, and what are the temps/humidity in the enclosure? It could also be that husbandry is off or there isn't enough space in the cage...

[Lferg]

Temps are 90 on hot side and 80 on cool. Its a 55gl tank so 48X12X12. He was fed yesterday. I guess I could be handling him too much? I have been taking him outside to get some sun and fun but he seems to love it. He seems extremely happy. How would I tell other wise? Here is a quick crappy cell phone pic.

[Alexandra V]

So he's in a 4 x 1 cage? That's on the small side if he's 6 ft. My guess would be that he's wanting some more space. The way I go with cage sizes for all snakes is either one square foot of cage per foot of cage, or that the sum of the front of the cage and one side should equal at least the length of the snake. Otherwise all your husbandry sounds perfect to me.

Also just on a side note, how are you measuring the temps? And you might want to consider putting an identical hide on the other side of the enclosure, from what the pics show he only has one hide.

[Lferg]

I was affraid of that. We have a few more weeks with him and I realy didn't want to spend a bunch of $$ on an enclosure that I'll probably never use again.... Ulgh well, if thats what the deal is, I'll have to do something. Thanks...