Lost Ball Python

Mar · 05-22-11, 08:09 PM

hello,
I have a 3 year ball python, about a week and a half ago my daughter forget to lock the lid on the tank, and sadly, a couple hours later when she checked on the snake befor going to bed, discovered that it was missing.

the tank is downstairs right around the corner from the stairs in the finished rec room. last time she escaped we found Togo (snake) in the next room. but no such luck this time. we have searched the basement every day, and cant seem to find it anywhere. does anyone have any ideas? Togo is just over 4 feet long now and getting quite thick. The snake guy here in town says she"s "fat" hmmm. Togo hadnt eaten for about 3 weeks befor disapearing. what are the chances of her climbing all the stairs? i am really starting to lose my mind over this

any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.

infernalis · 05-22-11, 11:59 PM

Places I have found missing snakes...

Laundry piles, under the fridge, behind the TV set, under a cushion and inside a couch.

Good luck.

stephanbakir · 05-23-11, 12:18 AM

Behind fridges under dressers and closets are also liked. Don't worry about 3 weeks without food, snakes can go months.

stephanbakir · 05-23-11, 12:18 AM

And welcome to the forums.

serpentshideawa · 05-23-11, 07:27 AM

Check in boxes as well

whoaxmary · 05-23-11, 07:43 AM

Before anything else, Welcome to the forum. Keep looking in the places people mentioned above, and 'search' the forum for lost or escaped snakes, and you'll find tons of advice people have already been given. My Ball Python is a great escape artist. I don't have a proper lock and some nights she manages to slide her door open enough to get out. I normally find her VERY close to her enclosure, luckily ball pythons aren't the most active snake, so every morning and night I'd start from the source and start looking there than work away and into the other rooms. Best of luck , keep us updated.

stephanbakir · 05-23-11, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoaxmary

Before anything else, Welcome to the forum. Keep looking in the places people mentioned above, and 'search' the forum for lost or escaped snakes, and you'll find tons of advice people have already been given. My Ball Python is a great escape artist. I don't have a proper lock and some nights she manages to slide her door open enough to get out. I normally find her VERY close to her enclosure, luckily ball pythons aren't the most active snake, so every morning and night I'd start from the source and start looking there than work away and into the other rooms. Best of luck , keep us updated.

Is your terrarium sliding glass? you can make a lock with a paper clip. Stretch it str8 then bend one end in one direction, and one end in the opposite direction. Should look like... an S with a vertical middle line.
Slide it into the gap in the glass and passed the glass then give it a twist, the bends should grip the edge of the glass and no longer permit them to open.

whoaxmary · 05-23-11, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephanbakir

Is your terrarium sliding glass? you can make a lock with a paper clip. Stretch it str8 then bend one end in one direction, and one end in the opposite direction. Should look like... an S with a vertical middle line.
Slide it into the gap in the glass and passed the glass then give it a twist, the bends should grip the edge of the glass and no longer permit them to open.

... Yes, it is, and that's such a simple idea - I'll be going home after work tonight to put a paper clip in place. lol. thanks

stephanbakir · 05-23-11, 10:51 AM

No worries, if you cant get it to work ill take a pic of a few of mine as examples.

Ch^4 · 05-23-11, 11:01 AM

To the OP, sorry to hear about the escaped BP. As mentioned, check EVERYWHERE. In the rare event that one of mine gets out, I like to setup "traps."

My traps consist of cardboard with strips of masking tape; these "traps" are then placed along the walls such that the tape is perpendicular to the wall and taped to the floor. Snakes like to travel along the wall, so if they happen to slither over one of the traps, you will hear the tape. The masking tape isn't strong enough to hold the snake in place, but it does give you an audible warning that the snake is on the move.

I also like to strategically place a water bowl (large enough for said lost snake to bathe) and their favorite meal on a plate (preferably F/T). You could also provide a hide from the snake's enclosure to help make them feel at home.

Search in dark, warm places. BPs like it hot and dark, and will stop at nothing to hide (typically). Think like a snake and look EVERYWHERE. Again, they will likely move along the walls, so check behind/under anything that rests against a wall. Hopefully you do not have any holes in the wall that would enable access into the wall; that is a nightmare.

Good luck and keep us posted! (Oh, and welcome to the forum!)

Mar · 05-24-11, 03:43 PM

Thank you all for the advise and ideas! And thank you for the "welcomes", i would rather have joined this under different circumstances!! i bought myself a wired cage and now have a pet mouse :s , the box that the cage came in i have put an electric blanket in set on low in hopes that she will either come to the mouse smell, or the warm box. i even slept downstairs the other night hoping i'd hear her creaping along the walls that i have layed out plastec bags along. but no such luck so far

alot of what i've read says that ball pythons are one of the more inactive of the snake families, and i can vouch that Togo is quite lazy, but does anyone think that she would have made the effort to climb up the furnace and gotten into the walls?? the furnace room is in the next room from where her tank is.
her tank is a 75 gallon tank with the reptile wire top on it with a 10 lb weight on each end of the lid so she cant push it open. but when my daughter put her away that night she forgot to lock the lid down.

SnakeyJay · 05-25-11, 03:24 AM

My friend found his corn in a cupboard, 6 foot off the floor lol.... It was the cupboard above the kettle so it got warm from the steam.

stephanbakir · 05-25-11, 06:16 AM

any luck finding the BP?

whoaxmary · 05-25-11, 08:49 AM

Quote:

but does anyone think that she would have made the effort to climb up the furnace and gotten into the walls?? the furnace room is in the next room from where her tank is.

I find it hard to imagine but you never know?
As I mentioned normally I find her close to her enclosure. Remember to recheck the same spots each day. I have a fender amp sitting beside her viv and I checked there for two mornings, second night I found her there.

Best of luck still! LEt us know if you've found her.

Mar · 05-26-11, 05:51 PM

ok!! Great News!!! I found her! Phew!! Well she actually found us! I went downstairs into the laundry room and there she was cruzing across the floor. I figure she was under the downstairs bathroom floor, but it is very cold and damp under there. I was sure that's where she ended up, but the more I read about dark warm places, the more convinced I became that she wouldn't be there. We had even hooked up the sub woofers and thumped the base onto that floor to make her insecure about being there if she was, but after 2 nights of doing that still no sign of her, so we gave up on that spot. She came out on her own!! Thanks for all the advice and tips that came in! I really appreciate it!!