Because I had to assist my kingsnake (Mango, about 7 mo - 20 g, 40 cm-ish) with two sheds, I thought I might need to make things a little bit more humid in his enclosure. I thought I might swap out the aspen shavings for some Reptisoil, coir fiber, bark mix - something that would hold a bit more humidity since I live in Utah (very dry).
I also thought I'd give it a background, put in a false bottom, add some plants, etc. because I thought it'd be fun and make it look nicer for me. Everything went pretty well and I was very happy with the setup.
Anyway, he escaped about two days later and I have not been able to find him.
The night before he escaped I saw him on top of the LED light I have inside his enclosure, looking around the top (clearly trying to look for an escape route). Me, with a healthy dose of hubris "Good thing I have a locking lid, he won't get out."
He got out.
I searched through all of the substrate and my wife dug around a bit in the LECA but found nothing. I really doubt that he would have gone in those clay balls. I checked the lid, and one of the back corners was just loose enough where he could have pushed it up and snuck out.
Anyway, we've done a good amount of cleaning, looking in drawers, shoes, behind our fridge, etc. to no avail.
This post isn't necessarily looking for tips (I read the thread by sdiamond when their kingsnake was missing), it's mostly for commiseration, but I'd also welcome any advice. I'm hoping I'll have one of the same moments that sdiamond did, where Mango just pops up in a place I've already looked. This is the sixth day of his escape.
tl;dr My kingsnake (Mango, about 7 mo - 20 g, 40 cm-ish) escaped after I upgraded his enclosure and has been missing for 6 days and it's no good.
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