4 days later

Kettennatter · 08-25-12, 06:29 AM

This is one of those posts describing something that shouldn't have happened, yet it might be instructional to others.

I have a number of corn snakes that my 7yo son bought. They range in size from almost full-grown to very young snakes thinner than a pencil. The youngest one is normal corn which is rather active and adventurous.

On Thursday morning my son mentioned that the youngest corn was gone. It was housed in a 10 gallon tank with a heavy lid (thick laminated particle board). He told me that she rear of the lid was not aligned properly with the groove that holds in in place. The snake was nowhere to be found. I had fed it on Tuesday, so the snake might had 1-2 days of a head start.

The next couple of days we searched the house, checked the discarded substrate from recent cleanings, looked under all appliances, at the back of other enclosures, you might know the drill. This morning we found the snake after we lifted a heating vent cover, pulled up the carpet around it, and looked under the carpet. The snake was under the carpet near the vent, probably just a yard away from where it escaped. (We had previously looked at the vent, but didn't pull the carpet up.)

My theory is that my 2yo was not strong enough to lift the lid, but somehow (maybe with a step stool) managed to dislodge the lid. While the lid is good at keeping the snakes in, it's not enough to keep little humans out.

shaunyboy · 08-25-12, 06:40 AM

after raising 4 kids and now having 4 grandkids,nothing surprizes me about young kid's capabilitys and reaching their goals (resiliant wee dudes they be)

when my youngest son was around 3,he climbed from a stool,to the table,to the kitchen worktop,then stood on top of the toaster,all to get his hands on the first aid kit,we keep on top of a HIGH kitchen cuboard

i have all my snake tanks locked,as my grandkids would have a field with them,if they could get them out

young kids and snakes are a mischevious bunch

glad you found your snake mate

cheers shaun

Kettennatter · 08-25-12, 06:44 AM

Yes, I'm devising a plan of how to keep kids out, period. I want my son to have access, since these are his snakes, but I don't even trust his friends. I might have to lock the tanks individually, and it would be easy to drill through the lid and install two locks per tank.

Oh yes, I was very happy to find the snake. It's just a friendly and curious little thing.

shaunyboy · 08-25-12, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kettennatter

Yes, I'm devising a plan of how to keep kids out, period. I want my son to have access, since these are his snakes, but I don't even trust his friends. I might have to lock the tanks individually, and it would be easy to drill through the lid and install two locks per tank.

Oh yes, I was very happy to find the snake. It's just a friendly and curious little thing.

i locked my tanks after i heard my youngest shouting downstairs.....

" dad jimmy bit me " ( jimmy was a 6 month old kingsnake,my son was 8 years old )

i run upstairs to find...

the kingsnake hanging off my sons left " nostril "

my son had a pillow under his nose,so the snake was'nt dangling in thin air (i thought even though he's in pain,he still thinks about the snakes comfort,how sweet of him

)

the snakes bottom jaws were inside Robbies nostril,while its top jaw,was on the outside of his nostril,the kingsnake was still trying to eat its way up my boys nose,thankfully the edge of his nostril stopped that,as it had one jaw inside.one jaw outside

after hearing my boy cry out,i ran up the stairs thinking it was a defensive bite he had took,but no it was a feeding response

in the end the snake and my son were ok,so no harm done

lesson learned

cheers shaun

Kettennatter · 08-25-12, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

i locked my tanks after i heard my youngest shouting downstairs.....

" dad jimmy bit me " ( jimmy was a 6 month old kingsnake,my son was 8 years old )

i run upstairs to find...

the kingsnake hanging off my sons left " nostril "[...]

Ouch, that sounds painful. Even though the bite should not that bad at that age. Even my sub-adult king snake (about 5ft) does not have a very painful bite. Yet I'm sure nobody forgets a bite to the face. And yes, with kings it has always been a feeding response issue in my experience.

My kids are missing that experience, as none of them has ever been bit. My 2yo got "bit" by an adult dumeril boa, her finger was in its mouth, yet the finger was completely unhurt. Not sure how that is even possible, but my daughter just laughed while I was scared.

Not having that respect may be even more of a reason to install locks on their enclosures.

shaunyboy · 08-25-12, 11:53 AM

imo it's safer having locks

it saves one of my kids friends mums calling me up and asking,why her child got tagged by a carpet python

peace of mind mate

cheers shaun

Kettennatter · 08-25-12, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

imo it's safer having locks

it saves one of my kids friends mums calling me up and asking,why her child got tagged by a carpet python

peace of mind mate

cheers shaun

That is true. Even though, I sometimes wish my snakes would bite some of those rugrats. A kid recently hit my BCI on the head, twice. But the snake is so docile that it was of no consequence. The same goes for my corns, the garter and the KSB.

Only my king is so crazy that no kid dares touch him. (Heck, I'm the only one in the family who dares touching him. The last time I took him out my family stood in a safe distance and chanted: "Bite him! Bite him!" I didn't get bit, but I wondered about the overall sentiment.)

shaunyboy · 08-25-12, 12:13 PM

with carpet pythons it's usually fast movement that sets them off

they have a strike now,work out if it's food later policy

i used to love my younest sons kingsnake feeding response.....

it got that fired up it used to miss 9 strikes out of 10

it did'nt matter if it got the prey side on,it just folded it in half and went for it

i miss wee jimmy our kingsnake

cheers shaun

Kettennatter · 08-25-12, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

with carpet pythons it's usually fast movement that sets them off

they have a strike now,work out if it's food later policy

i used to love my younest sons kingsnake feeding response.....

it got that fired up it used to miss 9 strikes out of 10

it did'nt matter if it got the prey side on,it just folded it in half and went for it

i miss wee jimmy our kingsnake

cheers shaun

That sounds similar to my king snake. It will strike a cardbox box if you lower it into the enclosure. A thermometer isn't safe, either. (A temp gun is a great invention.) So sorry that you lost your king snake.

He is probably the type of snake that tries to escape the most. When I need to handle the snake I just wait for him to come out. He may be another good reason for locks on the lid.