New RB, Big oops!

Wingbeats · 05-11-15, 02:48 PM

I've been researching and reading about snake husbandry for about 6 months now, and figuring out what species I want and whatnot.

Then on Thursday, May 7th, I finally visited a local reptile supplier guy. While I was there and looking around, he handed me a Brazilian/Columbian Rainbow Boa integrade, and I fell in love with her! She was so calm and so gentle, despite being young. (She is about 1.5 feet long)

So I went home with her and all the necessary stuff for her - the tank, under belly heat, thermometers, humidity measurer, etc, and got her all set up. The temps and humidity in there were nice and perfect according to BRB care sheets.

Then, on Saturday, two days later.....I went to pick her up to hold her a little, and she was GONE!! I dug around in her humid hide, the substrate, everything....somehow she apparently wriggled out of her enclosure and escaped!

So I found tips to find a lost snake, and started trying them.

Night 1 - Looked everywhere close to her tank in the open kitchen area. Set up plastic bags to listen to all over, never heard anything. So I laid down flour, some artist tape at doorways, and put a sterlite on the floor with a bowl of water and a humid hide.

Night 2 - I couldn't stay up late so I looked everywhere again, and left flour, water and hide, and tape where it was. No evidence of snake movement.

Night 3 - It is feeding day for her, so I thawed a mouse and made a soda bottle trap to put it in. I taped the mouse and bottle to the floor near the water and hide, so it's warm. Left tape and flour where it was. Still nada when I woke up this morning.

I'm so worried....I know that RBs like warm and humid, and my house is rather cool and dry. Anything else I should try for a RB? I'm scared that I'm not seeing any disturbed flour or anything. Perhaps it's time to set up tape in the carpeted part of the house? Should I leave the mouse out during the day, or only at night? How long before a fuzzy spoils? (I'm assuming when it starts to smell bad).

Thanks for any tips....I'm so scared I lost her forever. She is such a gentle little snake!

Albert Clark · 05-12-15, 02:44 PM

Wow, sorry for the loss. Stay positive about finding her , I know the feeling well. I have had animals escape before and most times they were found. I would concentrate on any warm areas in the house. Behind the refrigerator and inside the motor area , behind the stove and around any electrical outlets, t.v's. Concentrate on looking at night with a good flashlight. Invite some friends or family over and make it a project. You are doing all the right things and keep doing them. Don't give up! She is probably looking right at you.

**EL Ziggy** · 05-12-15, 07:53 PM

Best wishes. I really hope you find her. Sounds like you're taking the right steps. I have heard that you shouldn't use tape though. Keep us posted please.

Wingbeats · 05-12-15, 10:29 PM

Day 4: Left mouse out, in liter soda bottle trap thing. Left tape in doorways. Left flour around oven and fridge. Still no sign or evidence of her.... I've been poking around the living room also, since my house has an open floor plan. I still sort of suspect that she is hidden in the fridge somewhere (as it is the closest warm thing to her enclosure), but I can't move the fridge myself.

Luckily, I closed all the vents in the downstairs on a whim when I first brought her home, so I'm not worried about that. I'm sure she has to be in the house somewhere! I just want her back so I can stop worrying about dehydration and all that jazz. Ugh, it's so embarrassing....bought my first snake, and immediately lost her

kuester · 05-13-15, 07:59 AM

I lost my 2ft blue tongue skink outside in the wisconsin fall weather for 2 weeks but I found him. Don't lose hope!

prairiepanda · 05-13-15, 09:18 AM

By any chance was the enclosure an Exo Terra or similar? They tend to have tiny gaps that young snakes can get through, particularly around the doors and on the top behind the styrofoam background. If it was in an aquarium type enclosure with a screen lid, pictures might help us find the problem. You're on the right track to find your snake, but the enclosure needs to be escape-proofed or else this will happen all over again. At 1.5ft she just be real skinny so preventing escapes can be a challenge.

Wingbeats · 05-13-15, 11:58 AM

I did indeed find the hole in the lid, and I fixed it with masking tape on both sides. I've also been prepping a tub enclosure for her with latches - just gotta drill some little holes in the side for ventilation. But her first tank should be escape-proof now at least! (I'm building the tub enclosure so that keeping humidity is easy - the screen-top aquarium was meant to be temporary)

Naturally, if I get the latchable tub prepped and ready before I find her, then she is going in that when I find her. I plan on a PVC cage from animal plastics for her adult size.

Still no disturbed flour in the kitchen today. When I get home from work today, I'm going to do a big house clean and tidy. Get eeeverything off the floor and such. The enclosure was in a little nook off to the side of the kitchen, but the house has an open floor plan - no doors anywhere. Everything outside of the kitchen is carpet....a simple house, but with lots of floor space. Luckily the many bookshelves are lightweight, so I can peek behind and under those easily.

Big snake adventure, I guess. Siiiiiigh....

eminart · 05-13-15, 01:39 PM

I'd recommend against using tape on your enclosure. Sooner or later, you're likely to find it stuck to your snake's scales.

When I was a kid, I lost a 3' iguana in our small house. Found it two weeks later in my mom's closet. Or SHE found it, and came and got me out of school to catch it.

Start in the room where you lost it, and systematically move and check in every single place a snake could hide. Then move to the next room. Don't skip places because it's difficult (i.e. behind bookshelves, in the refrigerator motor, etc.).

In my opinion, setting "traps" and whatnot is more or less just wasting time.

Snakesitter · 05-13-15, 02:10 PM

Sorry to hear about your situation. A few thoughts:

1. Remove *all* tape. Trust me, you do not want to go there.

2. Leave water dishes out. Rainbows need regular access or they will dehydrate and die.

3. Escapees typically don't go far. Something small and secure and nearby was likely the first choice.

4. If you have any furry pets, watch their behavior. Cats can be lethal for small snakes.

5. Do not give up. A friend left a baby drawer open several months back, and I and another friend tore the house apart with no success. Yet the baby appeared two days later during feeding day, peering up from the floor as if to ask where her portion was?

6. Be cautious of breeders who create intergrades. They are a *terrible* idea. I'm glad this one found a good home with you, but if they become common they will beyond any doubt cause bloodline problems for the general population of both species.

Good luck!

Wingbeats · 05-13-15, 02:55 PM

Huh, a bunch of peeps told me to use painter's tape to catch a snake, since it's easy to get off with a dab of oil. Is that not true?

I do have three water dishes about the kitchen....dehydration is what I'm worried about the most.

I suspect she is wedged up in the fridge somewhere, but the fridge is too heavy for me to move...trying to convince a friend or two to come over and help with that. I've had a ring of flour around the fridge to see if she moved to or from it, but no go so far. That's why I'm trying to lure her out with humid hides or a fuzzy feeder...there is some stuff I can't get into myself.

And yeah, I can imagine integrades are annoying for breeding! I don't intend to breed mine - I just want one pet snake as a reptile buddy C:

Thanks for tips, everyone <3

Albert Clark · 05-13-15, 03:59 PM

Keep searching and stay positive. You will find her!

Snakesitter · 05-14-15, 01:58 PM

Agreed. Never give up! (And thanks for the sensitivity to breeding an intergrade.)

kuester · 05-14-15, 11:17 PM

I agree with everyone on removing tape from the entire situation! I have a friend that had the hole on the lid of her enclosure and so she put tape on both sides, went on vacation for the weekend came home and the baby brb was stuck, bottom jaw to the tape, hanging from it, jaw wide open and dead! This was only 3 days with tape! She was devastated. I recommend buying an aquarium silicone if its a small hole. have you checked underneath the enclosure?

SnakeyJay · 05-15-15, 01:38 PM

By the time you find the snake stuck on the tape there's a good chance it will have skinned itself or ripped off a lot of scales trying to escape... You do not want the vet bills attached to that.

Snakesitter · 05-15-15, 02:07 PM

That's so sad...but a good caution. :-( Stories like this are why I avoid tape.