Snake on the loose

Jpham33 · 03-23-17, 10:20 PM

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 · 03-23-17, 11:06 PM

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 · 03-23-17, 11:30 PM

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 · 03-23-17, 11:46 PM

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 · 03-24-17, 01:45 AM

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 · 03-24-17, 04:26 AM

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 · 03-24-17, 04:29 AM

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 · 03-24-17, 07:50 AM

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** · 03-24-17, 08:13 AM

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 · 03-24-17, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

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 · 03-24-17, 02:31 PM

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 · 03-24-17, 02:56 PM

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 · 03-26-17, 12:23 AM

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 · 03-26-17, 12:36 AM

Congratulations on your success!!!

dannybgoode · 03-26-17, 01:18 AM

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...