My Inland is having some issues...

[AMY22]

Okay, so, I am having a bit of an issue with my Inland (cue violin music), I have noticed today that something is up with him. I was getting ready to start cleaning out his tank and I noticed he was having some issues with his face, it seemed like something was irritating him because he was rubbing his face on everything. Initially I thought he just had something stuck to his face but then I realised it wasn’t. I can’t quite figure out what it is.
I have ruled out mites, there are none in his water bowl, nothing on his body, nothing around the tank. I think I could see something on his chin though, like a brown patch. It could just be dirt, it could be blisters, I dunno. It’s only small. I can’t get him to stay still long enough to properly look. When I tried to restrain him he started to get stressed and had a bit of a hiss at me, then he started wheezing. I’ve been able to restrain him in the past but this time he just wasn’t having it.

Now I figured the cause of this could possibly be due to moisture in the vivarium. For you see, Monty loves his water bowl. I mean he loves it. Ever since I upgraded to a larger tank and accessories he’s been living it up in that water bowl. It’s not due to any health problems, he was splashing around in that thing day he got it because the last bowl he had he’d outgrown so he couldn’t fit in it. Now he can easily curl up in the bowl so he’s always in there, and I finally came to realise it is partly due to the fact he’s discovered he can suction up the side of the tank if he soaks himself first. He’s had this bowl for months and he’s in it all the time. Maybe also because he’s an Inland?
But anyway, because he loves his water so much he tends to get his vivarium trashed. Monty is the messiest snake you will ever meet, I’ve just cleaned his tank 20 minutes ago and I bet if I go out there now he’s in the process of destroying it. So could this issue that he’s having be due to the moisture in the tank? He does sometimes over flow the water bowl when he sits in it, and when he gets out he’s obviously still wet while he’s crawling around the tank. So his vivarium does tend to get pretty soaked and it’s a hassle. That is the only thing I can think of that could have caused this.

He has never had a feeding problem, he’s an incredibly good feeder in fact. He has never had a shedding problem, the last skin he shed was a few weeks ago now and it was absolutely perfect, it came off in one piece and there wasn’t a single tear in it, I just wanted to hang it up somewhere and admire it all day (but last time I did that my mother came around to help me clean one day and ended up accidentally sucking it up into the vacuum cleaner). He’s never had mites either.

Now I’m taking him into the shop tomorrow to get looked at, but I’d like to know if any of you have an idea of what I could do, what could be wrong, etc. I need some moral support so I don’t over stress (stressing is what I do best). I’d like to be able to take him in with a few ideas in my head.

 

[JAS101]

is the snake still doing it now ?
what type of substrate [ flooring material] have u go in its enclosure ?

 

[Freeloader]

Check the temps in your tank. He could be in the water bowl as he is hot. Does he have problems shedding? He may be rubbing his nose to commence a shed.

 

[AMY22]

Well I only noticed it about 10 hours ago. This is only a recent thing because I have handled him a few times this week and I haven’t seen anything. In fact it may have only occurred over the last 2 days or so. He is still acting normal, he’s still active and I can’t see any other differences in his behaviour other than he was rubbing his face earlier and he was wheezing when he got a bit stressed from being restrained. Whatever it is I’ve discovered it early.
I was thinking he might have a respiratory problem because of the moisture that I mentioned? Maybe if I limit his water for a few days so he can drink but not soak his vivarium, and keep his tank warm and dry for a while to see if it helps with his breathing? He only wheezed when he stressed, other than that he breathes fine.
He has newspaper on the bottom of his vivarium because his tank is rather large so it’s the cheapest. I’ve never used sand or anything.

 

[AMY22]

Check the temps in your tank. He could be in the water bowl as he is hot. Does he have problems shedding? He may be rubbing his nose to commence a shed.

The warm end of his tank is an average of 30oC, and it’s in a 4 foot tank so there is a good gradient. He is definitely not shedding, he has never had a shedding problem, his sheds have always been the same, opaque eyes for about 3 days, then clear for another 2 days, then he will shed, and he’s never had anything go wrong with a shed. He only shed a few weeks ago as well. He ate last week and he had no problems with it either.
His eyes are clear, he’s not sitting with his mouth open, there is no discharge, no mites, his behaviour is normal. The only thing is rubbing his face (in an irritated way) and wheezing when he got stressed.
I’m totally stressing out, I know there probably isn’t any need to but I can’t help but worry.

 

[Ramsayi]

Rubbing his face could indicate an upcoming shed.

As far as staying in the water bowl all the time and since he's in a new cage and presumably bigger then it may be a security issue.Snakes will often choose a water bowl as a hide above anything else in the cage.

Try taking the bowl out and only offering water a few times a week for an hour or two at a time.

 

[AMY22]

Rubbing his face could indicate an upcoming shed.

As far as staying in the water bowl all the time and since he's in a new cage and presumably bigger then it may be a security issue.Snakes will often choose a water bowl as a hide above anything else in the cage.

Try taking the bowl out and only offering water a few times a week for an hour or two at a time.

He has had this tank for quite a while now (almost 8 months actually). He is about the same length as his tank. He has a hide, a log, and branches and a rock, the tank is not too big for him to feel open an vulnerable, and it’s not cramped so that he can’t move around. Sometimes he will sit in his hide, other times he will sit on his hide and sometimes he will sit under his heat lamp.
In regards to soaking he has SOAKED once recently when it got really hot one day, he curled up and completely submerged himself in the water. I know he was hot that day because it was over 40oC. But he doesn’t usually SOAK, he just likes to crawl around in it a lot, and he uses the water to suction up the glass. I know the water is something he just enjoys being in, it is not because of any health or temperature issues. My concern with it is could moisture caused from the water going all over his tank when he’s splashing around be the reason he’s wheezing?
He is definitely not shedding, the first sign of him shedding has always been his eyes, he never rubs against anything until he is actually shedding. Plus he only shed very recently so it is definitely not it. His skin hasn’t gone dull, which it always goes very dull in colour for a while before shedding.
The problem I’m having is his wheezing and rubbing his face. And when he was rubbing his face, he was actually rubbing his face against his own body sometimes, it was more like he was trying to scratch his face than rubbing like when he is shedding.

I might try taking his bowl away to make sure he keeps the tank dry so if it is the cause there could be improvement and that would give me a clue.

 

[Chris1]

if you do leave his bowl in dont fill it so full and it wont spill when he sits in it,..

try using bath towels as a substrate, or at least put the water bowl on a folded bath towel,..my snakes love their towels, and it might help keep his tank drier,..

 

[antaresia_boy]

If your warm end is only 30' he may not be warm enough, is there a hotter basking spot for him?

 

[AMY22]

if you do leave his bowl in dont fill it so full and it wont spill when he sits in it,..

try using bath towels as a substrate, or at least put the water bowl on a folded bath towel,..my snakes love their towels, and it might help keep his tank drier,..

That’s a good idea actually, I might try that.

If your warm end is only 30' he may not be warm enough, is there a hotter basking spot for him?

That’s just an average temperature, depending on wether it’s a cold day or not. I live near the hills in Adelaide so the weather can change a bit and it will slightly affect the temperature of the basking end.

 

[AMY22]

Well I took my Monty boo into the shop to have him checked out today, and it turns out what I thought was the problem was correct. So I have left his bowl in the tank for now but I’ve tipped a lot of it out, there is enough to drink but not enough to overflow or completely submerge himself. If that doesn’t work I will take the bowl out. And the thing on his chin that was making him rub his face could possibly be a blister which is what I thought it was, while I was holding him in the shop he stayed still for just long enough that I could see it properly.
So I can now sleep easy knowing he should be fine.
Thanks for the suggestions guys!