Any suggestions on how to find a retic?

[NativeHunter]

So I recently recieved a 6 foot Jampea Dwarf Reticulated Python and she flew the coop. She ripped the side off the tank and is now loose somewhere in my place. Any suggestions on how to find her?

[wizbit13]

Look for it. Its a pretty big snake.....cant be that hard to find!!!!

[NativeHunter]

How much do you want to bet? There is a REASON her name is Dini. (Houdini). We have searched the place and there are so many spots we can't check that she could be it is not funny. What I need is a suggestion on how to get her OUT of those areas. I know it is really funny, but some useful suggestions not involving going to hell or looking for her would be really apprecited. I was told that the people on this board know about these things. Thanks.

[Matt.B]

Try turning the temps down in your house set up a heat pad and a mouse/rat in the room you lost him put flour in the door ways......... thats really all I can think of right now. good luck.
Matt

[NativeHunter]

Thank you Matt. That was an excellent suggestion. I will give it a shot .

[justinO]

good luck finding the snake. anytime we have had an escape, they almost always go for the tightest, darkest place they can find.

i've found our snakes either behind other enclosures or in the closet.


again, best of luck,

justin

[ib_inked]

I had an Iguana that once went missing for over 3 months.
I left food out for him, but I would NEVER see him come and get it.
I had NO idea where he was hiding.
He wasn't a small iguana either. He was probably over 4 feet with his tail.
Turns out he would stay in a closet where we keep winter jackets and clothes that we weren't using.
Thing is, I looked in the closet like 50 times.
He was hanging by his claws in between jackets in a vertical position.
We never saw the poop on the floor of the closet because it all stuck to the jackets. (gross)
We never saw or heard him once during the time he was missing.
The only thing that let me know he was still alive was that his food was always being eaten.
Just a funny story, but also a reminder to look in the most unlikely places for yer snake.

[HeatherRose]

I don't think size is that much of an issue, while I know he is no retic (even though he thinks otherwise) my 3+ ft Ball Python escaped recently and I tore my room APART looking for him. There's no way he could have gotten out of my room (The first floor is my room and the door is always closed) and there were no holes whatsoever for him to hide in in the walls or anything like that...and still, I didn't find him. I tried ALL the tricks I could find on ssnakess.com and from friends (leaving rats out, turning down temps in the house and leaving a heatpad out, dusting the room with flour), and STILL I didn't find him. It was like he evaporated :p

After three days of looking and worrying and having my sister (who shares my room and doesn't love the idea of a loose snake) nag me constantly, early in the morning he randomly slithered up over my feet while I was getting ready for work... scared the hell out of me, hehe :D

My advice is to lock up any furry animals you have and wait it out while trying some of the other things mentioned above. He will show up eventually :D

-Heather

Good luck finding your snake :D

[NativeHunter]

Thank you Heather, Ib Inked, and Justin. (for the record, I love ZIM, Have tattooed 4 different Zim poses already on me arm.) I take a little comfort in the fact that she should pop up. I am not really afraid or anything. I just miss her. I will keep searching and checking fer any other suggestions!

[Samba]

Sorry to hear your snake is MIA. Try this:

Get a metal wire 'cage' and place a live rat inside. Any hungry snake will be attracted to the racket (rats are noisy and nosy creatures). My burm likes to hide up high, and currently has made his 'home' at the very tip-top storage shelf in his closet. (The walk-in is modified to be an enclosure for him). You would be surprised where they can go and don't give up hope... if your apartment is rat/mouse free he'll come out some night looking for food. Be patient and be thorough. Good luck, and keep us updated!

[ib_inked]

One thing about these snakes as opposed to arboreal is that they are really hardy snakes. If an ATB or ETB got loose, it would probably die pretty quick, but Ground Boas and Pythons can put up with a lot more stress.

[NativeHunter]

She is having a ball where ever she is!! I have tried to bait her with a live rat, but she is a big suck and will only eat dead critters! I will set up a nice little area for her to come to though and cross me fingers!

[Invictus]

1) Pick up an item.

2) Throw it away if it doesn't look like a retic.

Hope this helps. :D

[NativeHunter]

HA! That brought some cheer to my day!!!!! Thanks Invictus

[Invictus]

I do try. :D

[Cruciform]

First place I'd recommend looking, if she has full house access:

In the space under the fridge where the drip tray is. There's a lot of ambient heat there from the compressor and coils.

Plus if you have extra heat pads, instead of putting them out in the open, find all the dark, easily accessible hiding spots you can think of and put heat there. If she's looking for good hiding spots, heat should keep her close to the ones you can retrieve her from.