Ahhhh... My snake escaped:(

Jim Smith · 01-18-14, 01:50 PM

I still don't know how she pulled this off. She's a sub-adult Ghost Honduran milk snake about 3+ feet long and has some good size to her. She lives in an high quality snake cage with no holes large enough for her to escape out of. The last time I actually saw her was two days ago when I took her out to handle her and I know that I locked the cage when I returned her to her cage. Yet, somehow she managed to escape. That gives her two days to find a nice warm spot to play hide and seek with me. If you saw how much "stuff" I have in my man cave, you see what a daunting job this is going to be. I've literally torn my room apart looking for her; all to no avail. It's possible that she crawled out into the house, but there are so many places to hide in my room, I can't imagine she would bother leaving the room. The only two things I know now is

1. She's not in her cage. and
2. I can pretty much tell you where is isn't hiding in my room.

Any hints from others out there that have experienced the disappearing snake act with their reptiles?

CK SandBoas · 01-18-14, 01:54 PM

Check any tight, dark and warm spaces.....check by the washer and dryer.....check by the refrigerator.........if you have a basement, tear that apart, because they can and will travel downstairs (speaking from recent experience on that one, lol)

**EL Ziggy** · 01-18-14, 02:00 PM

Good luck Jim, I hope you find her soon.

sharthun · 01-18-14, 03:17 PM

Wow Jim! Good luck! Sneaky serpents!

Kera · 01-18-14, 03:52 PM

They can most definitely get to the basement. Check beds, under mattresses, under blankets and sheets, in dressers if the drawers were left slightly open, check in dressers anyway, etc. best of luck

KORBIN5895 · 01-18-14, 04:55 PM

Put a live mouse in a fine mesh cage and place a Gide with a warm spot close.

Starbuck · 01-18-14, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Put a live mouse in a fine mesh cage and place a Gide with a warm spot close.

good advice. This is what i did when my carpet escaped....

but beware!! Now i have a pet rat :P (and my carpet was in a completely different room!)

CosmicOwl · 01-18-14, 08:32 PM

Are you SURE she isn't in the cage? This sounds silly, but sometimes you really can miss the snake if you don't pull the bedding out and sift though it.

Jim Smith · 01-18-14, 06:05 PM

Korbin5895,

I have a thawed mouse out tonight with a couple of hides covered by a shirt, but I will replace that with a live mouse tomorrow. Thanks for the good idea.

sharthun · 01-18-14, 06:51 PM

Keep us posted Jim.

Jim Smith · 01-18-14, 08:48 PM

CosmicOwl,

Fair enough question, but unfortunately, yes I am sure she's not in the cage. I took all of her hides and her water bowl out of the cage and combed my fingers through the bedding several times and she's not there. I will keep everyone posted on my progress, but I'm afraid it's going to be a long process to find her. Thanks and please keep the ideas coming.

CosmicOwl · 01-18-14, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Smith

CosmicOwl,

Fair enough question, but unfortunately, yes I am sure she's not in the cage. I took all of her hides and her water bowl out of the cage and combed my fingers through the bedding several times and she's not there. I will keep everyone posted on my progress, but I'm afraid it's going to be a long process to find her. Thanks and please keep the ideas coming.

I wasn't trying to insult your intelligence or anything. I just remember when my corn snake was small, I thought he had escaped. Sometimes it's hard to find a snake in a few inches of bedding.

Mikoh4792 · 01-18-14, 08:55 PM

What kind of cage are you using?

Sharlynn93 · 01-18-14, 10:04 PM

my lavender corn went missing for a month...we searched everywhere! she showed up on her own in the middle of the living room one evening...good luck!

Jim Smith · 01-19-14, 08:45 AM

CosmicOwl,

Believe me, I took no offence and your question was very valid. I've been through that once before with this same snake when she was small. There was a bit of bedding under the edge of her water dish and she had found a way to crawl under the water dish and hide. They can be very tricky. This time, I actually went back and checked in her cage 3 or 4 times, each time combing through the bedding just in case I somehow missed her. That said, she's a pretty good sized snake now and it would be pretty difficult for her to hide in her cage like she did when she was small. Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and well wishes. On a positive note, my wife is being super cool about the whole situation. She even helped look and has agreed to return the snake to her cage if it shows up when I'm not home.