Snake on the loose

[Jpham33]

So stupid me didn't close the enclosure all the way and one of my guys got out. Woke up the next morning to an empty enclosure and had a heartattack.

I've checked all over the basement and haven't seen any sign of it at all. The steps i've taken are:
- flour along the walls and anywhere I think he could hide
- water bowls along the walls
- enclosure on the floor just incase he wanted heat
- last night put a mouse out in the enclosure in hopes he would smell it and stay in the enclosure for heat

He's been gone since last weekend and i've literally haven't seen any sign of him at all, checking everyday in all the corners. Now i've only been putting most of my effort in the basement ( thats where the enclosure is) hoping he hasn't gotten upstairs even though it is a possibility.

Sorry for the long post but anything else I can do to find him? Tips and tricks?

I do understand that snakes are hardy and shouldn't be too too worried but it's hard not to. Thanks

[Scubadiver59]

Thought one of mine had gotten out, a slim juvenile Corn, but she was just hiding in this faux hollow log piece. Gave me conniptions for several hours until she showed up.

What kind of snake did you have? Hopefully it wasn't poisonous!

I've read of other "traps"...heater of some kind and tubes for the snake to hide in. Turn down the temp downstairs and place that heat source somewhere remote with the "tube" hides. Place that dead mouse near the hides. Then put your flour nearby.

I've heard of people finding their pets under the fridge where the coils are and it's warm.

I've heard of the snakes showing up weeks later when you least expect; but if it did get upstairs, lower the temperature and place heat sources in remote locations to lure the snake to the warm spots.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

[akane]

Turns out there was a gap just big enough in a hinged lid and I have been tearing the house apart. I'm debating the fridge because it's on the other side of the door down that wall but I have no idea how I'd check. She got loose in the room with the most clutter, dogs are confined the most, and cats wander during the day so putting anything out will just get destroyed/eaten/spilled and I killed myself picking everything up the first few days. At least none of the dogs or cats have found her in a bad way. I'm mostly trying to move on because her size compared to this house.... I spent 2 nights unable to go to sleep because you know maybe if you move one more object you will find the snake. Maybe if I pick up one more thing she'll be in it. It was a dumb mistake and while I still check areas as I can knowing she can survive a considerable amount of time without food and even water I don't have the physical ability to search the whole house at once so I have to keep going with other projects and not obsess.

[sattva]

I had a little 9 month JCP get out in my snake/store room... We had a lot of boxes in there back then... I tore that room apart twice... and nothing! I finally gave up... One month to the day I walk into the room and he was out stretched trying to get from one box to another... I didn't even have to bend over... I just reach out grab him and said welcome home Ralph...

[Jpham33]

He's a mexican kingsnake about 2.5-3yrs old, just over 3ft.
Ya Sattva, that's the story I want, where you just stumble upon your snake but a month or maybe a year will make me crazy.
I'm in the same boat as you akane, I need to get my head cleared and not obsess over it.

[Psyrocke]

If you havent already, I'd check near the boiler or the equivalent in your house if that is in your basement. My boyfriends snake escaped when he first got him (15 years ago) and thats where he was found.

[akane]

Mine is months old and not even a foot. How am I to find that in a 3 story farmhouse of patched together wiring and plumbing systems with open holes around them or drilled straight up through the wood floors? I might have already thrown her out in garbage while cleaning despite checking. It just seems impossible no matter how much I want to keep looking. I'm pretty much just hoping if we check places with heat and pest rodents one time she will be there like checking the filter which is the lowest spot on the heating ducts if she goes in any vent. The cats can fit in the fancy, wrought iron vent "covers" and rodents can fit down the air intakes so certainly the snake can. I doubt she could go up but the basement is even worse to find something than the ground floor she escaped on.

[Jim Smith]

Having experienced that same issue in the past, it has been my experience that they "usually" stay in the general area of their enclosure. My sister who also keeps Hondurans said that I would probably find her within six feet of her enclosure and she was right, but it was almost a month later. My first Honduran escaped when she was about the same size as your Mexican Kingsnake. I looked everywhere in the room, (at least I thought I did). I tried the 2 liter coke bottles with F/T mice traps etc. I ended up just putting bowls of water down and blocking all the vents in the room. Sure enough about a month later, I heard a noise behind me while I was sitting at the computer and she was crawling along the wall and caused a piece of wood to unbalance and bump into a desk. They can hide in amazingly small areas and stay hidden extremely well. Just block all the vents in the room, keep the door closed with a towel at the bottom to prevent her from crawling under the door and keep your eyes open. Try popping in and turning on the light in the room at odd times as they tend to like to move about when the nice and quiet and dark. Good luck and keep us posted.

[EL Ziggy]

Keep doing what you're doing JP and don't give up. Years ago I had a BP that went missing. My brother and I tore our place apart looking for him. He was gone for 3 months before miraculously reappearing on the bathroom floor at 3 am one night. My brother came in from a night of partying and found him there. He woke me up like, "Dude, you're not gonna believe this. Look what I found." There's always hope. Best wishes finding your critter. :)

[sattva]

He's a mexican kingsnake about 2.5-3yrs old, just over 3ft.
Ya Sattva, that's the story I want, where you just stumble upon your snake but a month or maybe a year will make me crazy.
I'm in the same boat as you akane, I need to get my head cleared and not obsess over it.
I know it's hard not to stress over this but John Smith is right... Make sure you block any escape route and just wait... It's only a matter of time before he shows up... Do you have other critters in this room you have to tend to?

[dannybgoode]

Yep, just keep looking. My IJ carpet got out the other week-resorted to ripping up the floorboards only to find him in a cupboard on a different floor of the house altogether...

[TRD]

Make snake traps..

Since it's a adult Kingsnake, it's rather challenging... but with a plastic container in which the whole snake fits that can open at the top, an empty toilet roll, and an old sock, you can build one.

1. Make a hole in the side of the container just large enough to fit the toilet roll. Put that through there and tape it off from both sides so it's stuck.
2. On the inside tape the old sock to the toilet roll and cut it in half so it's open on both sides but would hang a bit so that there is no "hole" so to speak from the inside
3. Place the boxes you have into corners of the room, not exposed.
4. Thaw some pinkies and drag those from different parts of the room over the floor and into the tube from the outside so they leave a scent trail leading into the box. Leave the pinkies in the box and close it.
5. Leave the room alone overnight, dark. Check the next morning. Repeat if required, or try different rooms.

The snake can go into the box, but due to the sock cannot go out. With a bit of luck you will find your snake eventually in the box.

[Jpham33]

Thanks everyone for the replies. He's back in his enclosure !!
For the past week there was absolutely no signs of him being anywhere. Today was the first day I was able to see his tracks from the flour i put down. I was happy to just see the tracks even if I didn't find him because it showed he was somewhere in the basement. After looking everywhere and following the different patches of flour i put down, he ended being back in his enclosure on the hot side.

I put his enclosure on the floor with it open just incase he would come back and what do y'know he did just that.

Huge relief now thats he back, it was hard having this in the back of my head all week. I'm happy it was just a week instead of a month or even a year.

Thank you all again, greatly apprecieted

[Scubadiver59]

Congratulations on your success!!! :D

[dannybgoode]

Great news and good thinking on putting his Viv on the floor. Anyone who has kept snakes for any length of time is lying if they say they've never had an escapee-happens to everyone at some point...

[sattva]

Wow! Congratulations... I can't believe he crawled back in there by him self... Now you need to spank him, tell him no! so he doesn't do this again...haha..

[GyGbeetle]

That is a naughty naughty snake! I'm so glad this worked out. My burmese escaped the first night we brought her home. I started crying and screaming and tearing apart our house, hating myself for allowing her to escape. She was in the most unconventional location you could imagine, underneath a nightstand in the bedroom. My husband thought to look there; I think he has some sort of telepathic connection to snakes. Because who ever would have thought to look there? I'm so happy you have a happy ending for this!

[Churro]

Congrats on his safe return. Good idea, putting his viv. on the floor.

[Jim Smith]

That's amazing that he actually crawled back into his enclosure. I wish they were all as well behaved. That said, it was very smart of you to put the enclosure one the floor where he could easily find it.

Your story reminds me of a time I got in trouble with my mom over a pet mouse. As a kid, I had found a pinkie Deer mouse in a rotten tree that had fallen down. I took it home and bottle fed it until it was an adult. I had a nice wooden cage I'd made complete with a hide where he would shred up newspaper and sleep. One day, my mom told me that it was getting towards fall and that I had to let him go. I took him outside about 100 feet from the house and let him go by a stream we had in the back yard. His cage was on the floor in the basement with the doors closed. The next day, I heard my mom scream bloody murder and then yelled for me to come down stairs pronto. She scolded me for not letting the mouse go as she had instructed. She had blindly reached into his hide to empty out the shredded newspaper and ended up grabbing the mouse who had somehow found his way back to the house, found a way in and returned to his cage. I released him again only this time I took him about 1/2 mile from the house into the woods. No matter what I said, my mom never believed that I actually released the mouse the day before.

[SnakeyJay]

Great news and good thinking on putting his Viv on the floor. Anyone who has kept snakes for any length of time is lying if they say they've never had an escapee-happens to everyone at some point...

8 years so far with not a single escapee, also no mites either...

I'm careful with long periods of quarantine and have never left a viv open or set any up with any gaps to escape... Most people have had escapee's but not really fair to say everyone has dude :D

[jay's reptiles]

Great news and good thinking on putting his Viv on the floor. Anyone who has kept snakes for any length of time is lying if they say they've never had an escapee-happens to everyone at some point...

i have never had snakes escape. but im dreading the day it happens.

[SnakeyJay]

i have never had snakes escape. but im dreading the day it happens.

Think it's something we all dread tbh.... once they're out it must be like a needle in a haystack.. Unless you lose a retic, should be easy enough to find an adult lmao :D

[dannybgoode]

Ok - a lot of people experience an escape at some point :p

I've never had mites though and yes I'm cautious with quarantine - especially with animals bought from say Donnie. That's a mite infestation waiting to happen!

[Magdalen]

I only had one escape and it wasn't an error on my part. My room mate's cat busted him out. I found him, Kenyan Sand Boa, shortly in my closet thankfully. Nice to have had a bright orange snake haha

[SnakeyJay]

Ok - a lot of people experience an escape at some point :p

I've never had mites though and yes I'm cautious with quarantine - especially with animals bought from say Donnie. That's a mite infestation waiting to happen!

Definitely, I just rarely buy anything... not much of an impulse buyer apart from my inverts so that probably helps with not catching mites lmao.

I had a friend lose a corn for about 6 months, it reappeared 6ft off the floor in a cupboard above the kettle. Staying warm from the steam. They can get into the craziest of places hah.

[Tsubaki]

8 years so far with not a single escapee, also no mites either...

I'm careful with long periods of quarantine and have never left a viv open or set any up with any gaps to escape... Most people have had escapee's but not really fair to say everyone has dude :D

Same for me, about 8 years. Unless I do not count that time a Burmese python pushed out the complete ventilation grid from his tank (Still being trapped in my sealed snake room). Then it would be +/- 18 years. :) I currently do not have a fully saleable snake room yet.. So I will have check, and double check.. Be in bed comfortably, and then still go to triple check.. My so thinks I have issues, especially when I haven't had any enclosures open and still go check :D.. I do not have OCD, Just a bit over the top anxiety about one of my snakes potentially getting out and hurting themselves or my dog or anything.. An adult reticulated python escaping is a little different from a Kingsnake or a Sandboa.. but I'm just as fixated on checking the enclosures of my smaller snakes.. I just like them to stay right where they are!

[Jpham33]

It's not a fun feeling to have an escapee. It was cool to follow the tracks from theflour I put down tho. I believe he was hiding somewhere in the washer/dryer, probably some hole or dark area he could get into from the back, I pulled it out when I would look for him but never saw him. It looked like he had the time of his life because everywhere I put flour down he crossed, which was pretty much the whole basement.

It's funny to watch him now because he's always trying to get out and explore again. I think I spent a good 30mins to 1hr of watching him try and squeeze his head through anything. When they say these guys are escape artists, they really mean it.

[Doug 351]

It's not a fun feeling to have an escapee. It was cool to follow the tracks from theflour I put down tho. I believe he was hiding somewhere in the washer/dryer, probably some hole or dark area he could get into from the back, I pulled it out when I would look for him but never saw him. It looked like he had the time of his life because everywhere I put flour down he crossed, which was pretty much the whole basement.

BTW: I have SERIOUSLY lost track of the amount of times Oscar has escaped!

It's funny to watch him now because he's always trying to get out and explore again. I think I spent a good 30mins to 1hr of watching him try and squeeze his head through anything. When they say these guys are escape artists, they really mean it.

They don't want to " Get out and explore..." they want to ESCAPE CAPTIVITY!

You experienced something that cannot be replicated 1 time in 100,000.... They almost NEVER come back, and THE ODDS GO WAY DOWN FOR A REPEAT!

[akane]

I think I have narrowed down all possibilities (that are recoverable) to under the fridge for mine. It's the closest heat source in a cool house besides the vent system we keep checking the bottom and filters of. Now how do you convince a desert species that has been loose in a cool house for about a week to come out and make the location dog proof..... I can't just flip a box over or something like some sites suggest because the dogs will destroy it and all powders will be scattered. I'm thinking of duct taping a bottle on a heat mat to the floor in front of the fridge with water and a pinky inside. It skipped it's last meal when it went disappearing but ate before that so should be fine longer than it will last without water. Possibly hungry enough to use that though. Unfortunately the house is full of holes where people ran various pipes and wires and never made it neat and the holes smell like wild rodents. Once in the floors, wall, or basement all hope is lost. It'll take a month to get through that and the snake will be dead in the cold basement on probably 40F concrete even without food and water to consider.

[Doug 351]

I think I have narrowed down all possibilities (that are recoverable) to under the fridge for mine. It's the closest heat source in a cool house besides the vent system we keep checking the bottom and filters of. Now how do you convince a desert species that has been loose in a cool house for about a week to come out and make the location dog proof..... I can't just flip a box over or something like some sites suggest because the dogs will destroy it and all powders will be scattered. I'm thinking of duct taping a bottle on a heat mat to the floor in front of the fridge with water and a pinky inside. It skipped it's last meal when it went disappearing but ate before that so should be fine longer than it will last without water. Possibly hungry enough to use that though. Unfortunately the house is full of holes where people ran various pipes and wires and never made it neat and the holes smell like wild rodents. Once in the floors, wall, or basement all hope is lost. It'll take a month to get through that and the snake will be dead in the cold basement on probably 40F concrete even without food and water to consider.

You might be surprised, and ( I hope so)... But, a snake, regardless of heritage, is not likely to freeze in your home.

I have had my snake escape many times, (sometimes for months)... and it took a Herculean effort to LOCATE her...( a 2 footer can hide in a matchbox!!!!)

They're tougher than you think...you'll find it...alive...and as they say, "Where you least expect it!"

If you you really want your snake back, TEAR YOUR HOUSE APART !!!

What I mean is: look EVERYWHERE! I don't know about trying to bait a trap...

#1: Check your closets...( especially shoes!) #2: Check those top shelves...(and all boxes there)..

It's amazing how well snakes can climb.

Your snake is in your home, but you are going to have to work your butt off to find it...

(And that means gping through EVERYTHING!).

[akane]

(And that means gping through EVERYTHING!).

and I can't. It is 3 floors of physically impossible. It is medically impossible. If meds hold I might see the far corner of the basement by the end of July. I cleaned the last area in likely range of the cage yesterday and emptied more of my future secure reptile room. Today is apparently wait out tachycardia events (high heart rate). Technically my heart is structurally sound and would not suffer from work but the secondary results risk loss of consciousness. Now I see how people die on stairs. I always thought that could not be as easy as they allude to but those things are practically designed to smash body parts in weird ways.

[richardhind]

about 5 yrs ago i had a six moth old snow corn out his viv in the august and id pretty much given up on until the following April 3 doors was having a new conservatory and it fell out the roof lol, all safe and sound so his natural survival instinct must of kicked especially to keep his self warm and fed during our British winter, went down to -10 that winter too.
luckily there lad knows my lad and we got him back quite a bit bigger and only a couple of healed marks on him
i now double check all the time and have locks,my freinds little boa had somehow pushed his vents out last week and luckily was on top keeping warm
good luck

[Jpham33]

Hey akane I agree with doug, you have to literally go through EVERYTHING. Every inch of everything. I let my snakes out to roam while I watched them today and it was very interesting what they can do.

The one that got out was the most active and it was pure entertainment watching what they can do and where they can climb. I caught him trying to climb up my ping pong table so I figured I let him try. He was able to get up on the side and disappear behing the plastic sign on the side of the table half way up. I took my eyes off him for a min and he disappeared. I went over and found him hiding behind that sign and was amazed how hidden they can be because he wasn't even fully up yet. Part of hos body was still hanging down but right behind the pole to stay hidden.

I knew they are good at hiding but it still amazes me what these guys can do

[Doug 351]

Borrow a cat.... They are excellent at locating snakes!

[akane]

I have 2 cats. I'm lucky if they find a mouse in a house full of mice :/ Then one of them just stares at insects and mice. The other is more curious and wants to whack the bull snakes on the head (I try to explain why this is bad especially with the over 6' one) but if she finds it at that size of snake it's a dead snake when she shows up with it or we'll just never know where she left it. The dogs would be safer to find it. They'll want to figure out what it is first and overall I teach them to contain unfamiliar things harmlessly until I say what you do with such things. My older dog says she is no longer motivated to play the find random animal that escaped game though (it worked with rodents and orphan kittens) and my new service dog prospect has puppy brain so unless the snake somehow becomes liver treat scented probably not going to work.

[Psyrocke]

I have 2 cats. I'm lucky if they find a mouse in a house full of mice :/ Then one of them just stares at insects and mice. The other is more curious and wants to whack the bull snakes on the head (I try to explain why this is bad especially with the over 6' one) but if she finds it at that size of snake it's a dead snake when she shows up with it or we'll just never know where she left it. The dogs would be safer to find it. They'll want to figure out what it is first and overall I teach them to contain unfamiliar things harmlessly until I say what you do with such things. My older dog says she is no longer motivated to play the find random animal that escaped game though (it worked with rodents and orphan kittens) and my new service dog prospect has puppy brain so unless the snake somehow becomes liver treat scented probably not going to work.

Leave liver treats on the floor in hopes the snake will slither over them? :P

[Doug 351]

I have 2 cats. I'm lucky if they find a mouse in a house full of mice :/ Then one of them just stares at insects and mice. The other is more curious and wants to whack the bull snakes on the head (I try to explain why this is bad especially with the over 6' one) but if she finds it at that size of snake it's a dead snake when she shows up with it or we'll just never know where she left it. The dogs would be safer to find it. They'll want to figure out what it is first and overall I teach them to contain unfamiliar things harmlessly until I say what you do with such things. My older dog says she is no longer motivated to play the find random animal that escaped game though (it worked with rodents and orphan kittens) and my new service dog prospect has puppy brain so unless the snake somehow becomes liver treat scented probably not going to work.

I've had two different cats find two different escapees . One was a baby speckled king. The cat was pawing at it... and it would strike one of the dogs rear end. The dog would turn around and see the the cat, but not worry about it! This went on for over 10 minutes.

I had a WILD Texas ratsnake. Like 4 1/2 -5' long, and I'd only had it a week or two. My cat was eyballing behind my amplifier....but I thought he was crazy, and even looked to make sure....

HOWEVER....15 minutes later, I found that booger behind that amp.

BTW: ( This was a newly caught WILD Texas ratsnake.... so it wasn't coming along peaceable!)