Escapee!!!

[KingCrimson<3]

My little Anery girl got out sometime in the last 48 hours, and of course I have looked everywhere, torn the room apart and put it back together, and I have nothing to show for it.

I am hoping and praying that she is still in the room, because if my roommates find her out of her cage, she is a dead snake, and I will have very angry roommates. She was last fed on Monday, so if I don't find her by then, I'll put a mouse out for her.

The worst part is that I have NO IDEA how she got out. She is in a 41qt Steralite tub with the locking lid and velcro strips along the sides to keep her from pushing the lid up. The setup is identical to the one my hypo is in, and he has escaped from everything, but so far this has held him.

Getting out just seems so out of character for her, this is the snake whos viv I have accidentally left open for extended periods of time, and she has never even tried to leave. She is just naturally extremely shy and nervous.

Make me feel better?

 

[Vicic17]

are you 100% sure the snake got out? one time i spent like 20 minutes frantically searching my room thinking my snake got out, then i said to myself, it seems impossible he could have got out, then i dug through the substrate for about 10 mins before i found him curled up in a random spot. is it possible that yours is burrowed under the substrate or did you check all that already? (sometimes mine burrows under the substrate right under the water dish too.

 

[wstphal]

How big is she? I've had 4 escape so far.all subadult or adult size. Three have been recovered no problem, the 4th is on the loose but I am sure I will get her back. If she is not a 2010 hatchling I am very hopeful you will get little Jackie back soon.

Try getting some masking tape (it's not too sticky) and making tangles out of it & put them along the edge of the room. If she is small enough to crawl into a soda bottle, try making a bottle trap out of a 2L soda bottle. If you have wood or tile flooring, dust flour around the edges so you can figure out where she's been. Can you block the bottom of the door so she can't get out of your room and cause the roommates to murder her? A rolled up towel would probably work.

Hang in there, I bet you will get her back! Hugs to you, I know you must be worried but these critters are sturdy.

 

[KingCrimson<3]

Yeah, I know she's not in the viv, I took everything out and combed through the substrate. Now that I know she is out, the door is blocked, and will remain closed when its not in use.

She's an 09, but she is tiny, not hatchling tiny, but much smaller than the hypo who is also an 09, and was eating the same as she was until he got so much bigger that it would have been unfair to keep him on fuzzies.

I know the most important thing is not to panic, but I'm afraid she got into something like the printer or the fridge motor...

 

[wstphal]

She might be under the fridge where the warm air comes out, and there are only a few empty spaces in printers and they are all accessible to you so you could check that, and if the fridge isn't too hard to move, pull it out and look in the back.

 

[Tara80]

Is there any kind of item/hide in her cage that she can fit into a portion of where you couldn't see her? There have been a few reports, on this site, from people who had thought that their snake escaped but found out, later on down the road, that their snakes had just found a better hiding spot inside items within the cage (I think one was found within a stand for a mini fountain).

 

[KingCrimson<3]

I wish. She is absolutely positively without a doubt not in the viv.

 

[megaggie2002]

I believe there are threads on here about finding escapees. Flour around the base boards, turn the a/c down and lay a heating pad in the floor, some trick to making a bottle she can't get out of, and staying up and watching for her to come out.

 

[smerten]

I wouldn't panic, I've had snakes escape, and have had good luck finding them.

My first year breeding, the very first clutch, the very first baby out of it's egg, and my cats saw it through the window in the incubator, knocked the top off, and he was gone for almost a month!!! One night I just saw him crawling along the edge of the wall, picked him up, put him in a cage, he shed, ate, and is a huge healthy good boy! We named him Houdini, he escaped the incubator, escaped 8 cats, one of which is a notorious snake eater (who is now banned to the outdoors during breeding season, and found safety! So, even the tiniest of babies has hope! I would be sure to seal off your door way, and any vents or openings. Check under/in your couch cushions, in pillow cases, and all kinds of odd ball places.

You could try the "tube" method, all you need is a tube (toilet paper, paper towel, PVC, whatever), and a "bag" (sock, snake bag, small pillow case, etc.) You tape the bag to the tube, and leave it along the edge of the wall, if the snake needs a secure place, and happens to find this nice place, he may stay awhile, allowing you to find him. (the more "traps" the better)

I have an amel., Jake, who will escape if you look away for a fraction of a second. I have found him crawling along the top of my 55 gallon fish tank, underneath my couch, underneath my heaters (I have electric base board heaters), under the couch cushions, crawling around in the kitchen, and behind my bookshelves. So, keep your eyes open to higher odd surfaces.

You may also want to check your tv's and the such. One of my balls, Sirus, can always be found curled up in my entertainment center, around the warm DVD player

As far as feeding goes, snakes can voluntarilary slow their metabolism, and can go for extended periods without food, so I wouldn't worry. He'll come out when he's hungry. You may want to put a water dish out though, just in case.

So, don't panic, it won't make him show his face any sooner, you'll think much clearer if you're calm, and good luck!

 

[bitsy]

I have an amel., Jake, who will escape if you look away for a fraction of a second. I have found him crawling along the top of my 55 gallon fish tank, underneath my couch, underneath my heaters (I have electric base board heaters), under the couch cushions, crawling around in the kitchen, and behind my bookshelves.

Blimey. The same snake has escaped six separate times? I think you need to put 'Steve McQueen' in a different tank/viv or figure out how he's doing it! Once is unfortunate, twice is worrying, but six times...?

 

[Nanci]

You could try the "tube" method, all you need is a tube (toilet paper, paper towel, PVC, whatever), and a "bag" (sock, snake bag, small pillow case, etc.) You tape the bag to the tube, and leave it along the edge of the wall, if the snake needs a secure place, and happens to find this nice place, he may stay awhile, allowing you to find him. (the more "traps" the better)

Nice- I've never heard of this, but it's a great idea!!

 

[GSDlover]

You could try the "tube" method, all you need is a tube (toilet paper, paper towel, PVC, whatever), and a "bag" (sock, snake bag, small pillow case, etc.) You tape the bag to the tube, and leave it along the edge of the wall, if the snake needs a secure place, and happens to find this nice place, he may stay awhile, allowing you to find him. (the more "traps" the better)

My snake LOVES a sock on a toilet roll.
He likes it better then his other hide.
I would def try this.

 

[smerten]

Jakes escapes have all been oopses He's pushed the top off his feeding tank, he's taken off when I've gone to refill his water, one was a bad door on a cage, and, most recently.... I have two dictionaries on his lid to keep him in, well I needed one, and forgot to pu it back I always find him, and so far, as long as I keep the dictionaries on the top he hasn't been able to get out, but he's still trying!