nose rubbing

[Damian]

hey guys long time no see. i was hoping my first post back on the forum wouldn't be about a health issue but it is. i have had my solomon island tree boa for about a year now and i noticed that he rubs his nose on the objects around him from time to time. now the really concerning part is that my ball python, which i have had for ten years has started to do the samething which i just noticed a few minutes ago. they are of course in seperate enclosures on the opposite sides of the room but this is really making me nervous. any opinions would be greatly appreciated. just to add some info, the cage temps are 80-82 cool end, 90 warm end, and i haven't had a mite problem in years which i know can sometimes be a cause of noise rubbing.

[Guest]

Re: nose rubbing

It could be retained skin on their nose from a previous shed.

[LORI]

Re: nose rubbing

This could be in responce to a variety of things going on actually. the most common ones are...
**trying to escape [ usually the top of the cage or door for it is where they rub]
**mites ...UGH
**preparing to shed the old skin off
**retained shed

IS your snake due to be shedding atm that you know of ? When was the last "blue" ?
Have you checked THOROUGHLY for mites ?
IS there any layer of retained shed left on the snake that you are aware of ?

Also like viper said... There could be some retained shed inside the nasal cavity..sometimes snakes will do this to try and "pick their nose" lmao to remove it is all.

[Damian]

Re: nose rubbing

lori,

i have been watching my snake for a few days now and she is not doing this nose rubbing anymore. i cleaned out her cage and changed the substrate and then sprayed my provent a mite just in case she had mites. i did check very thoroughly for mites but didn't find anything. the last time she shed was about 2 months ago and there is no evidence of a retained shed.

[ClayEnglish]

Re: nose rubbing

Damian,

The "island" boas are prone to nose rubbing, especially very early in life and when introduced to new enclosures. I have not had a single Colombian baby develop a nose rub (yet s12.gif) but have had several hoggs do this. And they are all kept in the same type of enclosures.

It is generally something that is "grown" out of, and if you treat that nose rub with Polysporin each day, it will heal fine.

[LORI]

Re: nose rubbing

with Polysporin

Just a reminder here... Make sure that there is NO pain reliever in ANY of the ointments like this one that you use on snakes.

[ClayEnglish]

Re: nose rubbing

So true Lori,

I have always recommended Polysporin for this very reason. They did not make the version with the painkiller as Neosporin did.

Polysporin and Neosporin (Original products only) are perfect.

There is a newer product called Neosporin PLUS that contains a painkiller as well.  AVOID this product as Lori has stated.