Hognose - Nose Rubbing

adc3 · 08-14-20, 07:33 PM

Hi everyone, I just got my first snake around 10 days ago. He's a baby western hognose. I'm a bit concerned because he's been rubbing his face against the glass of his tank a lot and I'm not sure why he's doing it. I did some research and found that some of the reasons might be hunger, about to shed, or stress. He kept doing it even after I fed him, so I don't think he was looking for food. He doesn't look like he's ready to shed, but I'm inexperienced so I might be wrong about that, so it seems like stress would be the most probable reason for his glass rubbing. If anyone has any ideas on what it might be and how I can fix it, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

kazz · 08-18-20, 05:09 PM

A lot of snakes want escape and find very small cave and be there. That's ok. When my snake rubs her head against glass, I let my carpet python to take her time out of terrarium.

poison123 · 08-18-20, 05:26 PM

Can you share some info about your setup or pics? Hognose are a pretty curious species ive found. They like to explore. The snake is fairly new to the enclosure so it may still be learning its boundaries. But some reasons they may continue to rub against the glass is yes hunger but you said you fed him. So stress can also be a factor if you do not provide proper hiding spots or deep enough substrate to burrow in. Hognose snakes are huge tunnelers moving around underground. Another reason can be overheating or searching for a heat source so providing info about your husbandry and pics would really help.

adc3 · 08-20-20, 09:38 AM

The tank is 20"x10" x9", I think that's 10 gallons. I have the heat pad on the hot side set to 92°F and the temp above ground usually ranges from 82°F (at night) and 90°F (day time) because of the lighting. The cool side is 75°F (night) to around 80°F (day). I have a few inches of aspen substrate that he digs through alot but I also added a third hide recently which seemed to help a bit, plus I taped paper to the side and that also seems to be helping. Also, he's been underground for a few days so I think he actually might be shedding but I'm not 100% sure.

adc3 · 08-20-20, 11:58 AM

Here's what the tank setup looks like. The dimmer picture is more recent:

ReptiWorldWide · 08-21-20, 05:13 AM

I'm no expert about this so i may be wrong.
Maybe you should have a bit more open space for the snake to stretch out and generally move around. Because even though hogs typically like to be very sheltered and hidden, it may want some more open space for things like basking and "hunting".