Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How can you tell if your snake has nose rub? Buddy is always trying to get out of his cage (we take him out as often as we can and play with him- once or twice a day) and I noticed today that his nose is a little black. He also pushed around his mulch overnight so I thought maybe that's what made his nose black. If it is nose rub how do we treat it and prevent it from happening again?

If your burm is constantly trying to escape, there is something wrong in the snake's environment (or the snake itself). A content burm is one that spends much of its time comfortably coiled and movement is usually confined to thermoregulation or drinking. Male burms are certainly restless during the breeding season but that comes and goes fairly quickly. You might want to do a thorough check of temperatures, humidity levels, ectoparasites (like mites), perhaps the mulch is irritating the snake (I personally don't recommend mulch for burms), improper diet, etc. This is not to attack you in any way but rather to point out some areas that you may want to take a closer look at. As far as treating nose rubs, I would recommend gently washing the affected area with a warm, damp rag and rinse off with a little betadine and then apply neosporin....be careful as some burms become very defensive when stuff is being applied near their mouth.

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

>>How can you tell if your snake has nose rub? Buddy is always trying to get out of his cage (we take him out as often as we can and play with him- once or twice a day) and I noticed today that his nose is a little black. He also pushed around his mulch overnight so I thought maybe that's what made his nose black. If it is nose rub how do we treat it and prevent it from happening again?
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

thanks, i'll try newspaper instead of the mulch =)

I think you'l find newspaper, although not as nice for scenery, is incredibly easier to manage when the snake excretes. It soaks up urine well and when the snake is done with it's business, you simply roll it up into a ball, disinfect the cage and lay down new. No messy bags of mulch or shavings, no vaccuming the cage to get all the old stuff out, no dust and no mess on the floor of your house! Sometime the snake may even use it to hide under.

Good Luck!
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

Well first off what type of cage is the snake in? I'm pretty sure I posted something on this forum awhile back talking about getting your snake into a cage that is easier to maintain (such as a vision, monster-cage, or a plastics cage in general) to get the humidity you need easier and to provent *nose rub*. If you could post a picture of the snake, the snakes nose, and the enclosure, that would help out a lot. That way we can tell what the problem is.
~Ben
1.0 Green Anaconda
0.1 Green x Yellow Anaconda
1.0 White Lipped Python
0.1 Amazon Tree Boa
1.0 Super Tiger Retic