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View Full Version : Lost but found!


aspenfox
09-12-13, 07:54 PM
Hi theree, i'm new to these forums.. but i've been looking for a nice reptile forum for a while and I have a story that I want to share!

Bare with me! This is a bit long, but I think a lot of snake owners (especially ones who have lost snakes) will be able to relate to this.

It all started last December when I was looking through a local classified website... I stumbled across someone selling baby California Kingsnakes and as soon as I saw a picture of one I instantly became interested. I had never snake like it before. I thought it was so beautiful. I had owned a few turtles and tortoises in the past, but I never really saw myself owning a snake. I never really had any interest in them.. but I couldn't resist this one. There was something about it. I decided to buy one of the baby Kings' and quickly became attached to it. I named her "Glitch" and I handled her all the time. She was so calm and friendly.

A few months went by and I moved into a new apartment with my boyfriend. Glitch had gotten a bit bigger, and I had gotten even more attached to her. I handled her just about every day (while still allowing her to have a lot of space and time to her self, and always leaving her alone for a day or two after she ate). A lot of times when we had friend's over I'd bring her out and let her slither around my hands. I loved how social and calm she was...

One day when I came home from work I went upstairs to the room she was in and noticed that her tank wasn't closed up all the way...and she was nowhere to be found! My boyfriend had her out and didn't close the lid on the tank all the way when he was finished and she had escaped :(. I was heartbroken. I freaked out, I cried.. I was really upset. I looked EVERYWHERE for her. In every possible place..every place I could get to.. and she was nowhere to be found. I feared that she had slithered down our bathtub drain or escaped out apartment entirely. I was afraid she was dead somewhere.. Days went by.. weeks went by.. There was absolutely no sign of her.

Although I was still upset, I started to get over the loss... I just accepted the fact that she was gone and I would never see her again.


...Now just two nights ago (a whole month after I lost her!) I had to give my boyfriend a ride to one of his classes. It was 9pm, and it had been raining off and on all day.. We walked out the door, and as I turned to lock the door behind me I just happened to glance down at the ground... AND THERE WAS GLITCH!! She was just slithering around! Right outside my door! I had never been so surprised or so happy in my entire life! If we wouldn't have walked out the door at just the right time.. who knows where she would have ended up. I freaked out and grabbed her right away. I was afraid she would be a bit flighty considering she'd been roaming around for a month, but she was fine! She was just as calm as she always had been, she looked healthy, she looked bigger. It was a miracle. I'm never letting her out of my sight again!

I'm so glad to have my little scaley friend back, and I just want to say - if you ever lose a snake... don't lose hope! :)

Mikoh4792
09-12-13, 08:46 PM
lol congrats. Wonder what she was feeding on to get bigger.

I've lost a few snakes in the past, it's always a joy to find them again, and a reminder to be more cautious.

EL Ziggy
09-12-13, 08:48 PM
That is an awesome story! Never lose hope. I had a very similar situation happen with a ball python years ago. Gone for 3 months, no sign of him anywhere. Come in from a night of partying at 3am and who's behind the bathroom door?

sweatshirt
09-12-13, 08:52 PM
Congrats on finding her! Glad she's safe :) My old corn was lost for 6 months once, you should have seen my face when I found her.

Charis
09-12-13, 09:39 PM
Congrats on finding her!
My longest escape was a little female Rosy, Emma, who was gone for 76 days before being found safe.
Currently have a corn snake missing, Fiona, that I'm hoping will be found safe, been missing since Monday night. Was completely my fault too, had been feeling really bad but Monday was feeding day for about half the snakes and she was one of the last ones I did. Normally put her in a feeding bin and then the bin back in the cage and lock both. Well, this time I managed to not completely secure both lids! Still smacking myself for that one!

aspenfox
09-12-13, 10:20 PM
Wow, it's pretty crazy how long snakes can go missing for! haha. I thought a month was a long time but damn! :O Good to hear about other stories as well.