!!! Help Please Lost Corn !!!

[Abstrakt]

My 1st snake (Albino Oketee Corn) that I got from the Reptile Expo in missisauga has escaped, and is hiding somewhere in my apartment. He got out a week today, and I have been searching for him all week but have found nothing. I've ripped up carpet, moved couches, appliances....everything I can think of. I took a tip from my friend and put a fuzzy near the entrance of a hide on a heating pad with a heated fan behind it in hopes that it would coax him out...but it did not work...and now I am more worried than ever. I am broadcasting my plea to hundreds of snake owners across the web:

Please, if you have any spots that you think I should check or any tricks, tips, or techniques that I could try to use to get him to come out of hiding..don't hold back please let me know. Thanks in advance everyone.:(

[mark129er]

do a search in the forums for lost snakes, there is agreat post from zoe, details everything. Best of luck

[ChokeOnSmoke]

Try putting flour near the walls of your apartment
Look everywhere from the ground to the roof. Check drapes or blinds if you haven't already

[ChokeOnSmoke]

oh yeah the flour will show your snakes tracks and help determine where he is

[Zoe]

lol, I posted what Mark just did, so I took mine down.

Thanks mark!

Good luck finding your snake... but let me tell you that you'll probably come across by accident... of the 4 snakes I've lost, I only found 2 of them while I was actually looking for it.

Zoe

[mark129er]

I want to say that this originally came from Zoe, I am in no way smart enough to come up with this:

Finding an Escaped Snake:


So your snake went for a change of scenery, eh?

Why?:
There are a number of reasons a snake can escape: a weak enclosure, a hole, a lose lid, forgetting to close the lid to name but a few. It's best to try and avoid escapes in the first place by making sure you have a sturdy cage, a tight-fitting and locking lid, and making sure to always close the lid or door.
Though it's always a scary experience, escapes happen to the best of us, and it's usually no big deal unless the snake is dangerous (for example a 15 foot burm, or a venomous snake).

First Step - The Search:
Now, hopefully you've noticed not longer after the escape that the snake (or lizard) is no longer in its cage. The first thing to do is close the door to the room the cage is in and remove all kids and house pets. The snake probably hasn't left the room, and headed directly for warm and dark areas, which is where you want to start looking.
Look in dark and warm areas surrounding the tank and work your way outward in concentric circles. Get a mirror and flashlight so you can see into the smallest, darkest areas. Look under every crack and in every crevasse, you'd be surprised where a snake might go (in the garbage, on top of or under bookcases or desks, under the radiator, curtain rod, behind the enclosure, in a bed or a purse or bag etc). Don't forget to look UP, too! Check cushions for holes in the seams.

Second Step - The Traps:
Didn't find him? No big deal, there are a million places a snake can hide. You're probably fed up with search by now, and are out of places to look. The snake probably won't come out with all that comotion anyway. Inside the room, place a head pad on the floor with a hidebox or paper bag on top of it, and a mouse/rat in front of the hidebox door / paper bag(preferably NOT on the heatpad. hot mice rot fast). Paper bags are helpful because if you're close enough, you can hear the rustling and grab the snake right away. Leave it there for a few days (but check a few times a night), he'll get hungry and one of his expeditions he'll come across the mouse/rat, eat it, and decide that the warm hide is the perfect place to chill and digest.
Another idea similar to this is to take a relatively big cardboard box, poke some holes in it and cut a large (big enough for the snake) hole near the top. Place the food item in the box, and place the box near a heat pad. The snake, when hungry, will enter the box, eat the food and might be unable / unwilling to leave the box.

Leave the snake's cage open, he may very well return there. You can also enter the room quietly in the middle of the night (or during the day if the reptile is diurnal) with a flash light; the snake might be out and about.

If you aren't sure the snake is still in that room (even you think he might be - it never hurts to do this!), sprinkle flour or corn startch across doorways, hallways etc to see if he's moving around the house.

Third Step - The Wait:
If you've got nothing to do that night, you can try crinkling up plastic bags and laying them in the room (near the walls is you best bet) and sit near the dark, quiet room, and wait. Snakes often travel along the wall at night - even diurnal snakes - and you will hear the snake if it does. Have a flashlight and handy, and as soon as you hear a bag rustling turn on the flashlight and take a look.

You Found Him?:
If you see the snake, DON'T jump after it! It will just slither away before you can catch it. Aproach it slowly, and you should be able to pick it up. If you can't catch at, at least you know the area is in and can place a box with a mouse/rat inside about where you saw the snake, leave, and come backin an hour or two to check.


Some Nagging...
Even though escapes are completely undesireable, you need to learn for the experience. How did the snake escape? Loose fitting lid? Hole in the cage? Forgot to close the cage? Remember that bricks or heavy books aren't suitable to hold down lids because all a snake needs is a little give, and they can force their way out. Tight bungee cords work well, but proper, locking lids work best. Once you know what the problem is, fix it! If your snake is escaping on a regular basis (ie more than once!) then there is something seriously wrong. Just because you found your snake every time it escaped, doesn't mean that the next time it escapes it won't find a hole in the wall, or an open window, or a cat or a bird.

[BrandonVeenstra]

Check Bags, Backbacks .. those are normal places

[Abstrakt]

thanks for everything guys. I just hope the lil' ******* comes up soon

[KingFfaj]

you should also close any ventilation holes that might be accessable to the snake (near the ground, or near shelves) you could also put down sticky tape near walls so he gets trapped.

[jay76]

Personally I'd say avoid sticky tape. I've seen an escaped neonate king get stuck to one of those adhesive pest strips. Could have been an isolated example, but it was NOT a pretty sight. If your apartment has wall vents definitely close them or cover them with window screening or something similar until you can find him.

[Kathy]

I tried all those things when I lost my male ghost corn, nothing turned up but after a month I found him, just sitting in the middle of my bathroom cruising around. Got lucky in that case, another one of my corns (from a totally different type of enclosure) escaped and I have yet to find her, who knows where a 4month old corn could hide in a big house, lol

[JoeBradley]

Look high. I found mine in the rafters of my garage. Still have not been able to catch him but I see him every now and then hanging out on the top of the wall. As soon as he sees me coming he darts into the wall. He looks good though.

[Derrick]

one of my corns disapeared for a few days. he ended up being in the room with the cage but I ripped that room apart and never found him. I caught him by droppin the house temp and putting a heat lamp/hide on the floor. It sure does suck though and I hope it never happens again

good luck with the hunt