Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am currently keeping one subadult wildcaught zonata parvirubra 18 inches - i have Hubbs great book and read it but i have an unanswered question about husbandry...

I made her a naturalistic terrarium 10 gal and she is rubbing her nose raw in there and messing up her rostral scale...

Terrarium has a plexi top with drilled and smoothed holes, subsurface heat on a dimmer, water, hydrocal naturalistic climbing wall with a hide tunnel i made, clear plexi multi level hide with vertical holes (i saw jerry kruse made a similar one and i modified mine a bit), coco shell hide, coconut/sand substrate, fake fern and flowers. Basically all she does is try to escape all day... and is rubbing her rostral scale on her nose a bit raw on the glass side walls of the aquarium .. i put a bit of neosporin on it 2x but the problem is not going away... her temp and food frequency seems ok.

Basically, i am thinking that i need to move her to a sweater box with aspen (what is best substrate?) and hope that she stops rubbing her nose raw... is that the solution to this?

The sweater box with deep aspen may help. Also, she may be wanting to find a hibernaculum for the winter (they know what time of year it is) and her desperation to escape may be that urge to find one. So if you can give her one by brumating her that may help her.
Of course, be sure that she has not eaten for at least a couple of weeks and provide her with a bowl of water in the brumation box. An even temperature of 55F is good for the brumation.
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Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

If a snake is "roaming" the cage it is in seek of 4 main things: 1)the right temperature 2)the right humidity level 3)a mate 4)food.

I would think at this time of year it is in seek of the right temps and humidity level.....

Provide a moist hide box in your tub full of aspen shavings as well as a water bowl......

If the snake is refusing food then cool it, if not continue to feed and raise it up over the winter.
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

How warm are you keeping this snake???
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Jerry Kruse
www.zonatas.com

And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."

During night about 69 - during day about 75 -- plus she has a subheater that warms an area

>>During night about 69 - during day about 75 -- plus she has a subheater that warms an area

You need to check surface temps.........
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

John, i do have a probe type thermometer to check the surfaces... the hot area is 85 at top of substrate, 88 on top of glass of aquarium... right now the surface temp of the rest of the tank is about 71

I've only seen incessant cruising by zonata if about to lay eggs or too much overall warmth. My suggestion, if you already have ample hides, is to provide a small container with slightly moist sphagnum moss. A burrowing substrate atop with a small tile isnt a bad idea either (i.e. 1 inch of Aspen bedding with a 6x6 ceramic tile atop in one area).

And cool the snake down more.

It's also already nearing mid-October and I'm almost sure that the snake hardly took a meal if anything at all. Keep it cool, brumate if you have the means.

That incessnt cruising is going to make him/her wear down that precious body fat which it needs until April.
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Jerry Kruse
www.zonatas.com

And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."

Brumation is pretty simple, at least in my neck of the woods (Sierra Nevada foothills) I just put my snakes under the table in my bedroom in the coolest spot in the cabin and insulate them with quilts and thermal insulation to maintain about 55 degrees.

I just put my older pyros in this for the season, after weighing them and giving them one last chance to eat. Nope, nobody wanted to eat which is what I expected, so in they went.
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Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

My guess is that the snake, being wild-caught, wants to do what it would normally do - return to its hibernaculum. But it can't - it is in a 10 gal tank.

My suggestion is to get a larger cage (tub, tank, whatever) and put that on the floor in the coolest area you have. Then place a heat pad on one end of the cage against the SIDE. Pic below shows a hint of snake behind the rock against the heat pad mounted on the side.

I do not think a certain substrate will fix it, but as a test, try newspaper, as it is benign. They like to hide in/under the sheets, and if the cage is on the floor, the cage floor will be cool. Remember too that zonata can dry out easily, so do what you need to do to keep the snake from drying out (i.e. large water bowl and little ventilation, etc).

Worth a try.

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Mark