Dried out scales on snout

[chairman]

I haven't kept Baird's rats, but I have kept corns and Texas rats. My guesses are that either a)your substrate humidity is too low or b)your snake is is damaging his snout against the lid trying to escape.

To fix the humidity issue, add cocoa coir to your substrate, and then add water until it is moist but not wet at depth. It captures moisture much better than the bark chips. Don't get rid of the bark, as having a couple different textures of substrate tends to work out well. I usually mix some variety of bark, mulch, or moss with coco coir (eco earth).

The escape issue, if that is the case, can be more difficult to address. It typically requires getting a larger enclosure, or covering three sides of the tank with something opaque, like paper (or switching to a pvc enclosure). That creates a little more security for the snake, reducing the likelihood that the snake will try to force his way out of the cage.

You could also try adding a humid hide, but I find adding moisture to the substrate by adding eco earth works just as well.

[Cosmoandwinnie]

Originally Posted by chairman

I haven't kept Baird's rats, but I have kept corns and Texas rats. My guesses are that either a)your substrate humidity is too low or b)your snake is is damaging his snout against the lid trying to escape.

To fix the humidity issue, add cocoa coir to your substrate, and then add water until it is moist but not wet at depth. It captures moisture much better than the bark chips. Don't get rid of the bark, as having a couple different textures of substrate tends to work out well. I usually mix some variety of bark, mulch, or moss with coco coir (eco earth).

The escape issue, if that is the case, can be more difficult to address. It typically requires getting a larger enclosure, or covering three sides of the tank with something opaque, like paper (or switching to a pvc enclosure). That creates a little more security for the snake, reducing the likelihood that the snake will try to force his way out of the cage.

You could also try adding a humid hide, but I find adding moisture to the substrate by adding eco earth works just as well.

I’ve got a bag of eco earth left over from my skinks last substrate change so I’ll add that in and see if it helps.
Hopefully that’ll be enough of a change until I can find him some new hides, too.