Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,

Ive been keeping that blue racer that I caught in a 10gallon aquarium, as I do with most my animals, and I have noticed that her nose is starting to get messed up. How can I prevent this? I thought that cage would be considered small for a snake that was over 2 1/2 feet, so what should I do? Move her into a plastic shoebox or something?

Any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Andrew

A 10 gallon tank for a young/juvie or adult blue racer is far too small. I would personally recommend a cage made specifically for snakes (like a Neodesha, Vision, Boaphile, Habitat Systems, Crescent Moon Creation, etc) and make sure you are providing at least 4' wide x 3' deep x 2' high of space; I would go at least 6 myself which is what I provide. I don't feel that plastic boxes do these snakes justice and certainly don't provide what I would consider to me an optimal environment for these diurnal animals who rely on their field of vision to do well. Your snake is telling you that you are not providing the proper habitat and there are many variables involved: cage size/not enough space, improper temps or wrong type of heat (coachwhips and racers enjoy basking in the sun), substrate, wrong humidity, inadequate diet, etc. If you can't provide the proper environment, I would recommend finding a good home for this animal.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>Hey everyone,
>>
>>Ive been keeping that blue racer that I caught in a 10gallon aquarium, as I do with most my animals, and I have noticed that her nose is starting to get messed up. How can I prevent this? I thought that cage would be considered small for a snake that was over 2 1/2 feet, so what should I do? Move her into a plastic shoebox or something?
>>
>>Any and all help is appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>Andrew
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Everything I have read has said that a large cage like that is bad for them, as it promotes nose-rubbing. I have been thinking about finding a new home for it anyways, but I would still like to know what can be done to prevent nose rubbing. If I do decide to sell it, I will need to make sure the buyer knows how to prevent this problem so it doesnt happen again.
Here is another pic of the snake so you can make out the size easier:

Thanks,
Andrew

Some things to try:

Cover at least the back and sides of the aquarium with something opaque, like newspaper. As snakes go, racers have excellent eyesight and use it, and are consequently more easily stressed by movement.

Make sure you're providing numerous, secure hide spots that allow the animal to be sheltered AND at whatever temperature it desires. Hide boxes should be snug enough to allow the snake to assume a loose coil, but not so tall that it has a lot of space above it. In the wild, these guys cram themselves into some tight spots. A cavernous hide is little better than no hide at all.

I think much of the impression that large cages are inferior to small ones when keeping racers might be the result of bare cages with insufficient hides. With spartan cage setups they're undoubtedly more comfortable when the enclosure is small, simply because the enclosure itself provides more shelter. IMHO the better solution is a large cage; more complicated to maintain, yes, and harder to find room for, but better for the snake.

Steve

Although it may be ideal to keep them in a large enclosure, I have had much success with maintaining them (racers and large coachwhips) in small cages to prevent them from roaming and rubbing their noses. One way is to ensure they have a basking light. When keeping a racer or whipsnake you should try best to have a basking light that goes above 100 degrees so the snake can properly digest their meal. In nature, they bask and use the sun to help. Without it, the food may remain longer and develop harmful or deadly bacteria or provide circumstances for parasites to overwhelm the snake. It could just be trying to get the heck out of the cage to bask as its stomach is bothered from a bad digestion of a meal? A good hide log or rock den is required as well as lots of food. A wild caught racer is accustomed to eating a few times a week perhaps and is always active in the summer seeking food or a mate, so throw in loads of lizards and frogs or small rodents and keep him sorta stocky but not fat and it should help calm the snake down. Also, if the snake is rubbing on the screen lid, there are plastic screen lids available with rubber coating to help reduce the wear against its nose. There is also another plastic lid available that has a small screen in the center and plastic sides which do not scratch a snakes nose as bad. And as above stated, you can put some aquarium background scenery paper on the back and sides of the aquarium and this will reduce it trying to get out all the time. And put the cage where there is no people traffic to bother the snake. Good luck. Oh, and do not handle the snake for a while and let it adjust to captivity as it takes weeks for them to settle from the wild.

You definitly need a bigger habitat! If you took this snake from the wild, you need to keep in mind that this snake may not adapt to captivity. Also, I'm sure that it has parasites that will only continue to get worse in captivity if not treated. Your snake is obviously stressed and would probably appreciate being returned to where you caught it.

Thanks for your help everyone. Ill see if I have a spare tank that would work.

Thanks,
Andrew