compasslogic
New member
I just got a baby snake two days ago, on Saturday, at a reptile show. This is my first corn snake or reptile of any kind, ever. I asked the breeder if a 20 gallon long tank would be too big for the little snake, who is about 4 months old and is tiny tiny tiny. The breeder said it would be no problem, but now I'm thinking it really was too much. I had a screen cover on it that I used to use for my pet gerbils, and I bought two screen clips to add to the top. They were sold in packs of two and my snake is so little I thought it couldn't be that strong, so I stuck with two. Now I feel like I need 4. Or 6. Or 6000 all around the lid
So now my little boy is gone. I didn't even get a chance to give the guy a name yet. I can't find him in the tank, though I did put in some decor that I found on sale, and two pieces of the decor are hollow, so I am still holding out hope that he is stuck up in the decor and not actually escaped yet. The holes are bendy so I can't see into them with a light. They are a hard plastic that I cannot bend, and I don't have anything firm or long enough that also bends to try to stick down the holes to see if he's in there. I tried with a chopstick and a small wire, but the chopstick can't bend around the corners, of course, and the wire bends too easily and won't poke all the way down the holes. I need a thick pipe cleaner or something.
But the little guy could have also gotten out. I just fed him yesterday for the first time, so I know he wants to hide somewhere warm to digest. His tank is on top of the island counter in my kitchen, so my first thought is that he is behind the fridge, which makes heat. However, dang the fridge is heavy and really stuck in there. I managed to pull it out a bit only to discover that the back coils are covered over with cardboard with screws in it (I'm renting a house, and never looked behind the appliances before). I can see into all of the front bits of it, but the coils and such go so far back into the machine and the little snake is so so small and I just feel like if he wanted to be hidden in there there is nothing I can do to find him. Plus it's a kitchen. There are cabinets everywhere. And I live in Florida so the whole house is hot so it's not like it would be very hard for him to find someplace that's 80 degrees to hang out in, the whole house is practically 80 degrees.
So here's the bigger problem. I've been reading about how to catch the snake if you can't find it just by a search. I have two cats and two dogs. The two cats are great hunters. They are indoor-only cats, so they have never caught anything outside, but they are great at catching bugs and one even caught a wild bat while it was flying mid-air in the house. I know if one of these cats got a hold of that baby snake they would play with it way too roughly, and it would not stand a chance. They wouldn't eat it, but they would kill it so easily.
Next problem, one of my dogs is a young husky who is a crazy spaz and makes it impossible for me to lay traps. There is no way I can line any of the floor with flour to see trails, my dog would lick all of that up instantly; like the second I got it out of the bag. If I put out a bottle with a pinky in it, as I've read to do, the dog would think that was an awesome chew toy and would tear that thing apart. I can't place the tank on the floor for the snake to come back, because the dog would definitely not be able to leave it alone. Even with the top on she would knock it off and take out the decor for chew toys and dig in all the substrate or something. And I can't leave little water bowls everywhere like I've been told to do since snakes dehydrate easily, because the dogs would drink them dry in a second, and then probably proceed to step all over them and knock them over. Oh and I can't leave crumpled paper around baseboards, cause the dog would shred those for sure. Or the cats would play with them. Same for plastic bags, the cats would be all over those, they love crinkly toys and will always get into shopping bags left unattended.
So... advice? Should I try to get the back cover off of the fridge? Do I need to try to pull out the oven too? Are there any ideas for traps that all my crazy pets won't mess up?
So now my little boy is gone. I didn't even get a chance to give the guy a name yet. I can't find him in the tank, though I did put in some decor that I found on sale, and two pieces of the decor are hollow, so I am still holding out hope that he is stuck up in the decor and not actually escaped yet. The holes are bendy so I can't see into them with a light. They are a hard plastic that I cannot bend, and I don't have anything firm or long enough that also bends to try to stick down the holes to see if he's in there. I tried with a chopstick and a small wire, but the chopstick can't bend around the corners, of course, and the wire bends too easily and won't poke all the way down the holes. I need a thick pipe cleaner or something.
But the little guy could have also gotten out. I just fed him yesterday for the first time, so I know he wants to hide somewhere warm to digest. His tank is on top of the island counter in my kitchen, so my first thought is that he is behind the fridge, which makes heat. However, dang the fridge is heavy and really stuck in there. I managed to pull it out a bit only to discover that the back coils are covered over with cardboard with screws in it (I'm renting a house, and never looked behind the appliances before). I can see into all of the front bits of it, but the coils and such go so far back into the machine and the little snake is so so small and I just feel like if he wanted to be hidden in there there is nothing I can do to find him. Plus it's a kitchen. There are cabinets everywhere. And I live in Florida so the whole house is hot so it's not like it would be very hard for him to find someplace that's 80 degrees to hang out in, the whole house is practically 80 degrees.
So here's the bigger problem. I've been reading about how to catch the snake if you can't find it just by a search. I have two cats and two dogs. The two cats are great hunters. They are indoor-only cats, so they have never caught anything outside, but they are great at catching bugs and one even caught a wild bat while it was flying mid-air in the house. I know if one of these cats got a hold of that baby snake they would play with it way too roughly, and it would not stand a chance. They wouldn't eat it, but they would kill it so easily.
Next problem, one of my dogs is a young husky who is a crazy spaz and makes it impossible for me to lay traps. There is no way I can line any of the floor with flour to see trails, my dog would lick all of that up instantly; like the second I got it out of the bag. If I put out a bottle with a pinky in it, as I've read to do, the dog would think that was an awesome chew toy and would tear that thing apart. I can't place the tank on the floor for the snake to come back, because the dog would definitely not be able to leave it alone. Even with the top on she would knock it off and take out the decor for chew toys and dig in all the substrate or something. And I can't leave little water bowls everywhere like I've been told to do since snakes dehydrate easily, because the dogs would drink them dry in a second, and then probably proceed to step all over them and knock them over. Oh and I can't leave crumpled paper around baseboards, cause the dog would shred those for sure. Or the cats would play with them. Same for plastic bags, the cats would be all over those, they love crinkly toys and will always get into shopping bags left unattended.
So... advice? Should I try to get the back cover off of the fridge? Do I need to try to pull out the oven too? Are there any ideas for traps that all my crazy pets won't mess up?