How can I stop my woma rubbing her face against the tank?

[StellaDoore]

Right-o. I have a 10 month old woma who is rubbing her face along the inside of her enclosure. This I usually wouldn't care about, but she's pressing against the glass runner-track things (the metal strips the glass runs along), which jut out at the corners and are scratching up her dear little face. I've temporarily put blu-tac on the corner, but she's a persistent little devil and pushes past it.

Is there any reason she might be doing this? I know BHPs and Woma often push on their enclosure, but she's doing it to the point she has scratches on her eyes. And I want her to stop messing up her sweet face!

This is only happening at night, where the hot end drops to about 28C and the cool end is varies between 22-24C. She only pushes on the hot end. Is it too hot and she's trying to get out? Is she bored and wishes to play? Does she know that when I catch her doing this, I'll let her explore my desk while I search for answers on the internet, and she enjoys the free time?

Is there anything wrong or is she just attention seeking/looking to go on an adventure?

And more importantly, how do I get her to stop???

 

[ricky_91]

is her enclosure big enough ? and are you giving her plenty of food. womas are the only snake i give bedding because they burrow in it mine use to do that but since the bedding they just dig around in that. i use kitty crumble

 

[Dark_Psyde]

womas and bhps like to dig, give her a bit of sand or something and she'll use it instead of trying to dig through the wood Its also great to watch when you catch them burrowing

 

[StellaDoore]

She's around 80cm long (as a quick guess), and is in a 4x2x2ft enclosure, which looks massive on her. She was last fed two fuzzy rats (bumping her up a size as soon as the packs finished) on the 23rd and is due for a feed on the 30th, so she shouldn't be overly hungry. She doesn't seem hungry while getting her out of enclosure. And the substrate used is about an inch thick of Oz Pet ((kitty-litter type stuff)

 

[Renenet]

My stimmie does this. Fortunately, there's nothing in her enclosure she can scratch herself on, but I am wondering what it's doing to her neck because she rubs and pushes so hard! I don't know for sure why she does it, but it seems to become more intense in the couple of days leading up to a feed. During these times, when I stand in front of her click-clack, she presses her snout into one of the larger airhole and pushes like she's trying to get her whole head through, probably hoping she'll get fed.

I'd be fascinated to know what others think about this behaviour.

 

[Mister_Snakes]

I have an adult male Woma who does this. I constructed a set of tunnels from pvc pipe to give him a bit of a maze. He's stopped the nose rubbing so I'm happy. Just don't join the pipes permanently because every now and again he takes a dump inside tunnel.

 

[LilMissSnakey]

My female SA Woma did this too... I put a darker hide in her tank and she seems to only push against her enclosure when shes hungry now. Only problem i found with the darker hide is she likes it too much !

 

[Wonder_Woma]

maybe try another substrate like suggested... womas sure do love to burrow

 

[Sutto82]

Yeah I second the thought of trying another substrate. With my Woma I tried Kritter Crumble and shredded paper but had no luck with those, when I started using crystal subtrate he starting digging in it straight away.

 

[benjamind2010]

One of my womas does that, he likes to burrow in the breeder's choice I keep him on. I will look at getting Kritter Crumble as it's supposedly better.

This happens frequently with womas, so I wouldn't be concerned. If they rub their noses raw, best to apply a swab of betadine on the sore spots to eliminate any possibility of it getting infected. This is annoying, but the sore spot usually heals over and looks almost new again, just not 100%, more like 90%.

 

[StellaDoore]

Womas are a funny bunch, aren't they?

Okay then, I'll look at changing the substrate when it's next due for a clean and try something more burrowable. And I'll wack in more hidey hols and stuff to explore.

Awesome, thanks for the help everyone!