Escaped baby Kingsnake! Help!

Turds1987 · 04-21-15, 11:38 AM

Hi all! New snake owner and new to this forum. My young california kingsnake (4-5 months old) got out of her tank last night. It's a 10 gallon tank with clips on the lid, but I guess she managed to push through. I took out her hides, took out her bedding as well, and pretty much confirmed she's no longer there. She's about 16 inches long if I had to guess.

I keep her in the living room of my apartment, so there's so many places she could be hiding! We emptied the closet, took the cushions off the mattress, looked behind the fridge; we had no luck finding her.

Any advice on how to lure her out? I left her heat lamp on all night near where her tank is in the hopes she'd be looking for heat, but she didn't show up.

**millertime89** · 04-21-15, 01:16 PM

reptiledude987 · 04-21-15, 01:44 PM

They usually dont go too far but can tuck themselves into some really tiny spaces. just keep looking. Good luck!

elkied243 · 04-21-15, 04:40 PM

Maybe place a pinkie in the heat area to lure her out? But don't leave it there too long...they tend to rot very quickly. I read somewhere else to make every where else in the house as cold as possible with the exception of the one heated area which you already have.

I used to put flour along the walls in hopes of getting some tracks, along with tape (sticky side up). Good luck

reptiledude987 · 04-21-15, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkied243

Maybe place a pinkie in the heat area to lure her out? But don't leave it there too long...they tend to rot very quickly. I read somewhere else to make every where else in the house as cold as possible with the exception of the one heated area which you already have.

I used to put flour along the walls in hopes of getting some tracks, along with tape (sticky side up). Good luck

DO NOT USE TAPE!! If it does go over the tape removing it will give you a whole new set of problems. What if it got on the tape rolled and got tape on its eyes? It could loose an eye removing the tape! the other tips and tricks listed here are all good just please NO TAPE.

elkied243 · 04-21-15, 05:01 PM

Well I only used very small pieces to see if they were moved, nothing heavy duty never thought it'd do any harm but you're probably right. Good to know

Albert Clark · 04-21-15, 04:56 PM

Stay calm and look in all the places you don't think she could be. She is so tiny that she could be anywhere. Do you have any other pets like cats or dogs? If so, be aware that they may find her before you do. Be careful and good luck!

Bloutitt · 04-21-15, 05:13 PM

Ive had this happen I create a couple "hot spots" throughout the house and keep the rest of my house cool

Dont worry im sure you will find her! Goodluck and keep us posted!

bigsnakegirl785 · 04-22-15, 08:37 AM

The only two escapes I've had I found my snakes pretty quickly (within 20 minutes), even the tiny garter, by being very very thorough in my search. When the ball escaped, he was curled up under the TV. The garter was under a guitar case. Neither of them were found in warm spots, just dark and enclosed.

I've also heard of people finding their snake in their guitar (which was standing upright on a stand).

Lift everything you see, look inside everything. Get a flashlight and shine it in crevices, but be careful when lifting heavy things so that you don't squish it.

Turds1987 · 04-22-15, 04:52 PM

Hi all,

There was a mistake in my first post, she's actually been missing for 3-4 days. We were out of town so there's no way to tell when she actually got out, which makes me worry that she had more time to get somewhere further away.

We carefully searched through every crack and crevice of our living room, and we're going to check the bedroom/closet tonight. There are just so many places she could be!

I set up a 'hot spot' with her hides and a pinkie last night, along with sprinkling some flour around the floor to try and track her. Unfortunately, this morning there was still no sign of her

We're being hopeful that she turns up eventually, but it's just so stressful!

Bloutitt · 04-22-15, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turds1987

Hi all,

There was a mistake in my first post, she's actually been missing for 3-4 days. We were out of town so there's no way to tell when she actually got out, which makes me worry that she had more time to get somewhere further away.

We carefully searched through every crack and crevice of our living room, and we're going to check the bedroom/closet tonight. There are just so many places she could be!

I set up a 'hot spot' with her hides and a pinkie last night, along with sprinkling some flour around the floor to try and track her. Unfortunately, this morning there was still no sign of her

We're being hopeful that she turns up eventually, but it's just so stressful!

Good place to check is furnace registers also!

Cheers hopefully she will come back dont give up!

bigsnakegirl785 · 04-22-15, 11:08 PM

Maybe try heating up the pinkie so that the smell permeates the house? Not enough to cook it in case she eats it while you're not looking, but enough that she could smell it throughout the house. And set several in different places with differing amounts of smell so you don't confuse her too much.

Turds1987 · 04-28-15, 12:01 PM

UPDATE:
It's been about a week and a half and I still haven't found her. BUT there has been a breakthrough. We've been leaving flour sprinkled around the tile in our apartment, and yesterday we finally saw snake tracks! It looks like she's around the kitchen area. We couldn't find her behind the fridge, but there's a lot of other places we can't get to that she might be hiding (like behind the stove or dishwasher). Tonight I'll rub a pinkie around the surfaces in the kitchen to try and lure her out. I'm just relieved that it's now likely she's still in the apartment. Hopefully I can get her sometime soon!

reptiledude987 · 04-28-15, 12:09 PM

Youre on the right track! Good luck I hope you find her soon.

Rattlehead · 04-28-15, 12:32 PM

Nice! It's just matter of time man, good luck