strange behaviour and anxiety

[gitsie]

I have a columbian red tail boa, and have had him for four years. He's about 7 1/2-8 feet, has an enclosure that's 2 1/2 feet high, and l+w is 4 and a half feet by about two. The average temperture is around 82, substrate has "Cocotek" and had never been a problem. It's spot-cleaned whenever necessary, and the enclosure is cleaned with bleach solution every few weeks to a month.

I bought the enclosure from East Bay Vivarium last year, (two doors in front with glass and locks, bottom is some kind of non-stick water resistant material. everything else, including the ledge, is wood). There are two "vents" on either side of the enclosure, with wiring that almost resembles chicken wire but very, very fine.

Recently, my boa has been acting a little off. He seems anxious though he's handled daily. He has also been rubbing his nose against the wire. He'll do this for hours, and in the last few days he's scraped up his nose pretty bad. For now I've just placed a towel across the vents, propped up with his logs and have turned down the temperature because the vents are covered.

I've looked to see if he has mites, and he doesn't. His enclosure's clean, he doesn't have any signs of respiratory infection or retained shed or scalerot. He doesn't need to eat that ofton, and he isn't getting thin. He feeds on thawed "jumbo"-"monster" rats. Is there any reason he may be doing this?

The best way I can think to discribe his behaviour is anxiety. His tongue flicks are kind of off (he'll flick his tongue inappropriately from time to time, I don't know if he gets confused or if maybe I'm looking into this too much) and he just hasn't really been himself. I'm worried about him, he's my baby. Is there anything I should be looking for, or any suggestions on what to do?

thanks for your time.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[JuliusSqueezer]

What are the temps in your cage? What is the placement of the thermometers ..or how are you measuring the temps? If he's too hot, he may be looking for a way out to cool off. It may be something totally other than heating issue that's stressing him, but overheating is the first thing to rule out. Some people will swear that their hotside temp is 88 degrees but when checked with a more accurate temp gun...surprised to find their snake has been living in preheat and bake

[gitsie]

i have two thermometers, one on the warm side, the other on the cool.
cool is low 70s, warm is high 70s.
is there anything else that may be causing him to do this? I don't think it's the heat.

[blysprutan]

Tryed to change place on the thermometers?
Just to check that nothing is wrong with them.

[unluckyseventeen]

Where are you measuring that? Either the tank isn't heated enough or the placement of your thermometers are off. It should be an inch above the substrate. Anything in the low 70's is way too low. It should be 85-86 warm side, 78-80 cool side.

[blysprutan]

WOW that was very low temp.
(just realised that because i did not convert it,I use Celsius)
If i convert my temps this is what i get
My high temp is (at daytime) about 90
My low temp is (at daytime) about 78-80

[gitsie]

it was about 5:AM when I posted the temps last.
daytime i've kept the warm area in the high 80s. cool area is upper 70s-about 82.
nighttime i haven't really allowed to drop more than 5 degree.
he's still behaving oddly. but since putting a towel over the wire vents, he's redirected his energy to rubbing his nose on the glass.

aside from temperature, are there any other possibilities that may cause him to act like this? should i schedual an appointment with a reptile vet?

[jjmetro]

I know that nose rub in lizzards because the animal is very unhappy with its environment. Do you have a couple of hides in the enclosure?? and maybe this is just me but a 4-1/2 x 2 foot cage seems a little small for an 8 ft boa, he's looking for a way out. so he rubs to try and find a way out. try new hides, check and recheck your temps and humidity, change your substrate and whatever else is in the cage. there is something he doesn't like. if all else fails, get a bigger cage.......

[unluckyseventeen]

Good call, Metro. That tank is wayyyyy too small for an 8-foot boa.