Yellow Throated with a Bloody Nose

Question
Hello again Thea. :)

Our Yellow Throated Plated Lizard, Colby, is doing quite well with us.  Unfortunately, he keeps skinning his nose, and we're not quite sure how.  The first time, I thought he chased a cricket too aggressively and ran into a rock, but it's happening waaaay too often to be that.

I think maybe when he burrows under the "Reptile Bark" it tears off some of the skin from his snout.  It bleeds (not dripping, but VERY red), and after a day or so dries up and looks mostly healed.  Then, a day later he'll do the same thing over again.

We called the vet, but they said they had no idea, and that we should call someone else.  (Lovely, I know)  Should we put any medicine on it?  Change his substrate to something else?  Remove any rocks?

Any suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

-Shawn

Answer
Hello Shawn, Rostral abrasions can be very frustrating to get healed exactly for the reason you noted. My suspicion is that he is injuring it on walls of the tank. That's often how it happens in other species. As you might imagine, reptiles have a poorly developed concept of glass :) They will rub their snouts back and forth against it trying to get through to the bigger expanse of space that they can see. Some species climb cage furniture and rub their snout on the screen top. As a ground dweller he is likely encountering the glass as he burrows so you may not be noticing it. The usual recommendation is to create a visual barrier on the glass at the reptile's eye level. You can get creative for your own aesthetic purposes but it can also be as simple as some dark paper around the lower few inches of the tank.
You can certainly put a thin film of antibiotic ointment on it for precaution, but don't use one with pain relief.  I would also advise against using peroxide, it is rather harsh on new tissue and may actually impede the healing process.
Good to hear from you again, glad it's nothing too serious affecting Colby.

Cheers,
Thea