Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know this is cornsnke forum, but I hoping you fine folks can help me anyway.

I have a problem with my female black rat.
She is nose pushing, and is starting to damage her nose.
I know I am not doing something correctly.
I have tried aspen, reptibark, and newspaper substrates.
I have given her multiple hides.
She is in a 20-gal long, with a half-screen top.
I use a 40-watt incandescent.

She doesn't rub the screen - she pushes the corners.
She puhes hard enough to move her ceramic hide.

I need suggestions for how to make her happier so she will stop hurting herself. She is 52 inches and in very good condition otherwise. She is a road kill rescue and is eating F/T and F/K mice.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

John D

Her is a pic of her and my Creamsicle (to keep it on-topic)

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I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat (WV Rescue) "Roberta"

have you maybe tried a humid hide? or maybe its too hot/ cold for her. if push comes to shove, i'd line the corners with paper towels to soften the nose pushing.
~kin
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SNAKIES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corns:
.1 Normal (Gertrude) [just a pet...she started it all]
1. Orange normal (Romeo)
1.2 Miami Phase (Hector, Emily, Charlotte) thanks jeff!
2. Miami Phase part zigzag (Starkey, Mcvitty)[Emilys F2]
1. Amel het Blizzard (Dunesbury) .1 Blizzard (Detta)
1. Classic het Hypo, poss het Amel, Anery (Cobra)
1.1 Classics (Henry VIII, Cassy) [Emilys F1 babies]
.1 Amel (Pepperoni) .1 Orange Reverse Okeetee (Lonna)
1.1 Hypo zig zags poss HET Caramel (Bernard, Abegail)
.1 Hypo HET Stripe (Gracie Lou) 1. Hypo Stripe (Gideon)
1.1 Anery HET Motley (Lleroy, Persia)
.1 Candy Cane (Peaches HoneyBlossom) [Just a pet]
1. Abbotts Okeetee (Albert) [Charlottes son]
1.1 Snow (Crickle, Isis) .1 Green Snow (Maya)
1. Caramel poss HET Butter (Topher)
.1 Anery stripe (V) [husbands snake...he named it]
1.2 Bloodred HET Amel 1. Amel HET Bloodred

Others:
1.1 Black rats (Willard, Cecily)
1.1 Striped Cal Kings (Dweezil, Skunky)
1. High-white Reverse Spotted Cal King (Wishbone)
.1 Albino Stripe Cal King (Eve)
.1 Bananna spotted/stripe cal king (Speckle) Thanks Jeff!!!
1.1 Thayeri (Giuseppe[MSP], Cheyenne)
1.1 Creamsicle HET Motley(Orangejello, Genevieve)
1. Creamsicle motley (no name) Thanks Jimmy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~LEOPARD GECKOS~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 Blizzard (Blitz)
.1? High yellow (no name)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~TURTLES~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 white cheeked mud (Opel)
.1 snapping turtle (no name, ideas welcome)

>>have you maybe tried a humid hide?

No but i will

or maybe its too hot/ cold for her.

hmmmm - could be

if push comes to shove, i'd line the corners with paper towels to soften the nose pushing.

LOL!

Thanks kin
-----
I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat (WV Rescue) "Roberta"

black rats are a very active snake, much more so than corns. They do a lot of crawling around during the day. If yours is over 50 inches then it would need a larger cage. They also love to climb and in the wild I find just as many in trees as on the ground. A large homemeade cage (plywood, melamine etc) would be better. If it were mine I would make the cage about 48 inches long and 36 inches high with a few diagonal branches to climb on. A 55 gal tank should work well also.

I agree that the first thing to check is the belly temps. A 40 watt bulb might not be gettng enough heat to her. Also at over 50", it is probably time to consider a bigger cage. I have heard 20 longs are OK for an adult corn, but the rat will more than likely get a bit bigger. I guess it couldn't hurt.
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2.1 Corn (Anery Stripe-Ripple '06/Amber-Jack Straw '06/Amel Motley-Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's Ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.0 White Oaks Grey Rat (Tennesse Jed '04)
0.1 IJ Carpet Python (Cassidy '04)
1.0 Western Hognose (Samson '05)
1.1 Shepherd mix (Dylan 7yrs, Porter 2yrs)

>>well let's see.
I would tend to agree that a black rat that size, especially wild caught, would do better in a larger tank.
As mentioned, a nice branch for climbing would also be a good idea. And a shelf near the top of the tank. They do like to climb and hang out off the floor of the tank.
I have found that wild black rats do fairly well with temps in the mid to high 70's but due to their healthy appetites it is best to provide them with a UTH.

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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

Thanks Jimmy and Everyone!

Ok -

1st order of business - larger cage with climbing opportunities.

2nd thing - belly heat.

I will keep you posted.

John D
-----
I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat (WV Rescue) "Roberta"

Another option would be to include artificial greenery in the cage. This simulates leaf litter and herbaceous material that snakes utilize in the wild to hide from predators and ambush prey items.

When rehabilitating wild caught snakes and hatchlings that are sensitive to being out in the open, I have found that adding this greenery reduces stress in most animals.

The product is easy to clean as well!

Good luck, and let us know how your snake does in its new enclosure. It's a beautiful creature, so please post a full body pic when you get a chance!

That is a handsom fella Jimmy. Does he have a future date with anything of mine?
-----
.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
.1 MO Locale Black Ratsnake "Molly" (Flogging Molly)

"You saved my life! I'm gonna get you so many lizards!"

>>That is a handsom fella Jimmy. Does he have a future date with anything of mine?
>>-----

unfortunately not.
I caught him while fishing and kept him for about a month or two and decided he didn't really fit into any of my plans so I took him back to the lake, where i found him.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

That is usually the best way to go. Unless it is something you were REALLY looking for. Usually when I find something outside I realise that I was REALLY looking for it without even knowing it
-----
.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
.1 MO Locale Black Ratsnake "Molly" (Flogging Molly)

"You saved my life! I'm gonna get you so many lizards!"

HERES A PIC OF ONE OF MINE!!!!! MY GUY FELT LEFT OUT!
~KIN

-----
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SNAKIES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corns:
.1 Normal (Gertrude) [just a pet...she started it all]
1. Orange normal (Romeo)
1.2 Miami Phase (Hector, Emily, Charlotte) thanks jeff!
2. Miami Phase part zigzag (Starkey, Mcvitty)[Emilys F2]
1. Amel het Blizzard (Dunesbury) .1 Blizzard (Detta)
1. Classic het Hypo, poss het Amel, Anery (Cobra)
1.1 Classics (Henry VIII, Cassy) [Emilys F1 babies]
.1 Amel (Pepperoni) .1 Orange Reverse Okeetee (Lonna)
1.1 Hypo zig zags poss HET Caramel (Bernard, Abegail)
.1 Hypo HET Stripe (Gracie Lou) 1. Hypo Stripe (Gideon)
1.1 Anery HET Motley (Lleroy, Persia)
.1 Candy Cane (Peaches HoneyBlossom) [Just a pet]
1. Abbotts Okeetee (Albert) [Charlottes son]
1.1 Snow (Crickle, Isis) .1 Green Snow (Maya)
1. Caramel poss HET Butter (Topher)
.1 Anery stripe (V) [husbands snake...he named it]
1.2 Bloodred HET Amel 1. Amel HET Bloodred

Others:
1.1 Black rats (Willard, Cecily)
1.1 Striped Cal Kings (Dweezil, Skunky)
1. High-white Reverse Spotted Cal King (Wishbone)
.1 Albino Stripe Cal King (Eve)
.1 Bananna spotted/stripe cal king (Speckle) Thanks Jeff!!!
1.1 Thayeri (Giuseppe[MSP], Cheyenne)
1.1 Creamsicle HET Motley(Orangejello, Genevieve)
1. Creamsicle motley (no name) Thanks Jimmy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~LEOPARD GECKOS~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 Blizzard (Blitz)
.1? High yellow (no name)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~TURTLES~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 white cheeked mud (Opel)
.1 snapping turtle (no name, ideas welcome)

Your guy is very handsome!

Tahnks for sharing!
-----
I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat (WV Rescue) "Roberta"

thanks!
-----
~Sober Serpents~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SNAKIES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corns:
.1 Normal (Gertrude) [just a pet...she started it all]
1. Orange normal (Romeo)
1.2 Miami Phase (Hector, Emily, Charlotte) thanks jeff!
2. Miami Phase part zigzag (Starkey, Mcvitty)[Emilys F2]
1. Amel het Blizzard (Dunesbury) .1 Blizzard (Detta)
1. Classic het Hypo, poss het Amel, Anery (Cobra)
1.1 Classics (Henry VIII, Cassy) [Emilys F1 babies]
.1 Amel (Pepperoni) .1 Orange Reverse Okeetee (Lonna)
1.1 Hypo zig zags poss HET Caramel (Bernard, Abegail)
.1 Hypo HET Stripe (Gracie Lou) 1. Hypo Stripe (Gideon)
1.1 Anery HET Motley (Lleroy, Persia)
.1 Candy Cane (Peaches HoneyBlossom) [Just a pet]
1. Abbotts Okeetee (Albert) [Charlottes son]
1.1 Snow (Crickle, Isis) .1 Green Snow (Maya)
1. Caramel poss HET Butter (Topher)
.1 Anery stripe (V) [husbands snake...he named it]
1.2 Bloodred HET Amel 1. Amel HET Bloodred

Others:
1.1 Black rats (Willard, Cecily)
1.1 Striped Cal Kings (Dweezil, Skunky)
1. High-white Reverse Spotted Cal King (Wishbone)
.1 Albino Stripe Cal King (Eve)
.1 Bananna spotted/stripe cal king (Speckle) Thanks Jeff!!!
1.1 Thayeri (Giuseppe[MSP], Cheyenne)
1.1 Creamsicle HET Motley(Orangejello, Genevieve)
1. Creamsicle motley (no name) Thanks Jimmy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~LEOPARD GECKOS~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 Blizzard (Blitz)
.1? High yellow (no name)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~TURTLES~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 white cheeked mud (Opel)
.1 snapping turtle (no name, ideas welcome)