Rubbing on mesh?

sockSnek · 03-08-17, 08:06 PM

I'm not completely sure that this is what's happening, but she's been a lot more active since the last cage clean about a month ago. She used to spend almost all her time hiding, but now she's roaming around all the time. She goes up to the mesh top occasionally, which is why I'm a little worried. There are a couple scales around her neck that look like they're kind of peeling? It's going to be kind of a pain to take a decent picture, so here's a picture of someone else's snake that kind of shows what's happening:

IMG_0007_zpsbfaa6165.jpg Photo by Caddybreaking | Photobucket

Is there a good, safe way to cover the mesh so she doesn't hurt herself?

sockSnek · 03-08-17, 08:19 PM

It could also be the branches I put in there that are abrasive. Her nose is fine. The back of her neck kind of looks like she scooted backwards along something.

GyGbeetle · 03-08-17, 10:14 PM

Two of our snakes do that. We have painter's paper on the mesh to try and protect their noses a bit, and use duct tape to try and keep it on. But their noses don't get all that raw or scales get damaged. It was really hard to tell from that photo what may have been happening with that snake.

**Andy_G** · 03-09-17, 04:24 PM

That's probably scale damage from rubbing on the mesh. The easiest way to eliminate it would be to change her setup to exclude mesh. I advise against using tape inside any enclosure, especially duct tape, because if it somehow becomes adhered to the snake then you're not in for a great time. I'm all for securing insulated wires with aluminum foil tape if you're using it on a flat surface and the tape has been flattened out with a credit card so that there are no sharp edges, but not on anything textured because it will become loose over time and your snake will inevitibly get into trouble. Duct tape is not something I can recommend.

How old is the snake and are you certain she isn't being kept too warm?

akane · 03-09-17, 11:56 PM

Generally if mine are happy they don't have that problem. I have had my corn go searching for a way out the top when too hot, the desert king was restless when it was too damp but he has a plastic lid, one tried to leave it's tank because I left a relatively large rodent in there it didn't want to eat, and everyone got a bit riled up when things started to get warmer than usual with signs of early spring but only my bull really started pacing. With a bioactive tank he just went on a redecorating spree all the way down to the drainage layer. That is why you install base rock down to the bottom instead of stacking rocks on top of the dirt only.

sockSnek · 03-12-17, 02:24 PM

Nothing has really changed. The ambient temperature in the room has been in the low 70s and her warm side is 85. The humidity has been low this winter, but I've been spraying some sphag in her hide periodically. She's about 3 years old. I've only had her for about 8 months and the store got her as a rescue, so it's hard to say for sure.

I'm aware of the dangers of tape, and that mesh tops are less than ideal. I wish I could find a way to replace the top without having to replace the entire enclosure. I'm considering sewing some plastic across the top since string seems like it ought to be pretty harmless. She seems to have settled down a bit over this weekend. No idea why.