Gopher snake rubbing nose rawl

Hello, I have a female gopher snake that has her nose rubbed very badly. It is pink, she has rubbed all her norml brown or tan colored skin off and has a pink nose. I removed the aspen bedding and put in the white carefresh soft paper bedding. The encloser is smooth all around except for the back which is white peg board for air circilation. I think she must be pushing her nose into those holes and that is what has made it look so bad. She only seams to push low in the tank so I thing I am going to get some of that clear laminet that sticks on one side (like what you would put over a paper iD card or something to protect it) about 5 inchs up from the bottom.

Anyway wondering if anyone has any advice or should I put something on the pink area or let it be.

Thanks Bill!

Pushing into holes does seem to create this problem often - the other idea would be to line the entire back of the tank with a soft (non-metal) mesh so that she can't raise up and push into the higher holes either.

If it's just a rub right now she should be OK and it will probably heal over and shed out eventually. If you think she is in danger of infection, you can use a weak iodine solution or even antibiotic cream on the wound.

If in doubt, post some photos (of her nose and of the tank) and I'm sure that more experienced people will chime in.

Thank you, she is getting ready to shed now, so we will keep an eye on her. When we got her, her nose was bad too and after a couple sheds looked great, and now she is back to rubbing again. We can post pictures if she doesnt look better after shedding or if she continues to keep rubbing and gets back to the condition she is in now.

Good luck, do post again when you have it worked out.

The main part of the issue you are speaking of needs to be figured out first, as to the sole reason she is rubbing her nose.

Let me ask you. What kind of gopher snake is this? Some gopher snakes, especially from the areas in Mexico, come from cooler mountain climates. This also may play a part in figuring out what the issue is, mainly temp-related.

And also, speaking of temps, what temps are you keeping the gopher snake at? Pits do much better being kept at slightly lower temps than what some would keep kings or corns in. If the temps are too high, she is uncomfortable and that is the reason she is rubbing her nose raw. My collection is mainly pits, and I keep them at 78-80 with ambient room temps. They seem to be most comfortable at 78. When it gets above 80 in the room, they start moving around nervously, and rubbing their nose, etc..

Some gophers are more nervous than other members of the pit family as well. Due to this, it is always a great idea to have multiple hides in the cage as well. Does your gopher currently have one hide? If so, I would put another hide in the cage as well. Security given to the snake will make all the difference in the world, and could be one of the main reasons.

Good luck and please provide some more info if possible.

Originally Posted by DISCERN

The main part of the issue you are speaking of needs to be figured out first, as to the sole reason she is rubbing her nose.

Let me ask you. What kind of gopher snake is this? Some gopher snakes, especially from the areas in Mexico, come from cooler mountain climates. This also may play a part in figuring out what the issue is, mainly temp-related.

And also, speaking of temps, what temps are you keeping the gopher snake at? Pits do much better being kept at slightly lower temps than what some would keep kings or corns in. If the temps are too high, she is uncomfortable and that is the reason she is rubbing her nose raw. My collection is mainly pits, and I keep them at 78-80 with ambient room temps. They seem to be most comfortable at 78. When it gets above 80 in the room, they start moving around nervously, and rubbing their nose, etc..

Some gophers are more nervous than other members of the pit family as well. Due to this, it is always a great idea to have multiple hides in the cage as well. Does your gopher currently have one hide? If so, I would put another hide in the cage as well. Security given to the snake will make all the difference in the world, and could be one of the main reasons.

Good luck and please provide some more info if possible.

I do not know were she might be from, if I can figur out how to do it I will post a pic on here. When we got her at a show her nose was scared pretty bad. But once we got her home she seamed to quit that and after sevral sheads it went away. She was in a tank with another gopher snake until I made my new set up. When she was in there she always seamed to be under the hide oveer the heat source.

Now in her new place she is by herself, has two hides one over the heat source and one not. The encloser is very smooth except for the small holes in the back. The temp thing could be true because it has been a hot summer and I don't have a/c so toward the end of the day it can get close to 80-88 in the house on the days it was 90 something outside.

not sure if I did it right but this is the rockett if the pic gets on here. I will ask my wife to see if she can take a pic of her nose and post it, she is much better at this than me. Thanks

Here are some pictures of our snakes nose. She has all of the color rubbed off. It did look worse, it was actually pink, like it was rubbed raw. Now it is just colorless and doesnt look as sore.

Beautiful snake you have there!

I personally think that the problem is temp related then, due to the information you gave. Lower the temps and she how she does. 78 to 80 is perfect, IMO. You may have to move her either to the lowest part of the room, or another room altogether.

Good luck! Again, she is gorgeous!

Originally Posted by DISCERN

Beautiful snake you have there!

I personally think that the problem is temp related then, due to the information you gave. Lower the temps and she how she does. 78 to 80 is perfect, IMO. You may have to move her either to the lowest part of the room, or another room altogether.

Good luck! Again, she is gorgeous!

Thanks will give that a try!