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New Member, and In desperate need of help.

xbveilsidedx

xbveilsidedx

New member
About a month ago, I bought a 4ft corn snake at a reptile store. Bought a viv, lights, hiding place, aspen bedding, etc. Being a first time snake owner, I was pretty excited about my new pet but I ran into a huge problem.

One day, I left my pet in a box with a thawed out mouse and accidentally left my house to go eat, COMPLETELY forgetting about the new pet I had left in my room. Lo and behold, after 15 minutes I walk back into my room and the snake is gone. With the mice still there T.T

Frantically, I looked everywhere looking in every dark, quiet, spot I could possibly find. Flipped everything inside out, and still nothing. Overnight, I left out some water, basking light, and a hiding spot hoping he would be in there, but nothing.

My house is two stories, with 4 bedrooms upstairs. I've ruled out my room, and my brothers room across the hall, having checked every inch of the rooms. However, after almost destroying the other two rooms looking for the snake, I've also ruled out that the snake is not upstairs. Who knows maybe I haven't looked hard enough?

My question is: How can I lure my snake out? I've heard that snakes like warm, dark, places. Funny thing is, the 1st story is constantly ice cold, having wooden floors and windows constantly open. However, upstairs is very warm, carpeted, and has many hiding places. Could my snake be upstairs or downstairs? And how would I be able to make sure? How would I be able to lure out the snake? It's a 4ft foot snake, I didn't think it would be so hard to find T.T

Please help! Any suggestions would be great!
 
You're going to find him when you least expect it...like on your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Hope your heart is strong!

There is a search function at the top of the page....put in "escape" and you're bound to find endless threads/posts about it. Then try "trap" to find even more endless posts about how to lure them out. You can try using a heating mat on low with a towel over it on the floor, put a mouse near it and maybe a box to hide in. At 4', I wouldn't try to get him trapped into a bottle or anything, but check it throughout the night and you might get lucky. They tend to stay along the floor boards, so check those at night as well. Warm places like VCRs, printers, appliances, etc are good spots to check. Piles of laundry as well.

Good luck. I'm sure he'll turn up. Leave water out near the warm mat as well.
 
Another thing you can try is some tape traps. If you do this, only using masking or painters tape. Run this along walls or in corners. Check on it a couple of times a day.

You will want to lay it down, sticky side up and hope that the snake will get caught up in it.

Good Luck and don't lose faith. I have heard of snakes showing up weeks and even months later. Hopefully it doesn't take that long for you!

Wayne
 
should I leave the tape upstairs and downstairs? I'm so heartbroken right now I want to find her quick! After observing my snake, I found out she likes to relax in one spot all day, until it is about midnight to 1AM, when she is most active. Should I be looking for her along that time? Or would it scare the snake away?
 
I lost an adult female at the end of last year, her tank was accidentally left slightly open, thankfully it was only overnight. I sprinkled flour around the edges of the room and across the doorways, as soon as I realised she was missing that night and had done a first and what I thought was a thorough search.

We set about emptying everything from cupboards and shelves the next morning, looking inside everything we moved and checking the sprinkled flour I'd scattered the night before, as we worked around the room. The flour behind the computer desk had been disturbed in the night, so we made extra checks on/in everything in the desk. We finally found her curled up in the smallest of spaces inside the printer (it was just amazing how she managed to fit in there) and she had to be lured out with a nice hot mouse, as there was no way she was coming out on her own and I don't have a clue about how to take a printer apart! ;)

As Lori suggested, do a search of the forum for more suggestions. I just wanted to post, so that you know it is possible you may have missed him/her on your initial searches and that you should keep checking back on things you've already checked, as the snake may have moved.

Good luck and keep us posted! :)
 
xbveilsidedx said:
should I leave the tape upstairs and downstairs? I'm so heartbroken right now I want to find her quick! After observing my snake, I found out she likes to relax in one spot all day, until it is about midnight to 1AM, when she is most active. Should I be looking for her along that time? Or would it scare the snake away?
Click to expand...

Place it along walls, corns, near dressers, door jams, behind the couch, etc. Place it primarily in the room it was lost in and any adjacent room. Then in the halls and stuff. Also, if you have any heat mats, place them on low and place them in dark places. Then run tape traps all around them. I would set up a couple in some of the other rooms in other floors. Just make sure you are using the masking tape, NOT duct tape! If you use a tape that is too sticky, you can injure your snake.

Good Luck

Wayne
 
medusacoils said:
Another thing you can try is some tape traps. If you do this, only using masking or painters tape. Run this along walls or in corners. Check on it a couple of times a day.

You will want to lay it down, sticky side up and hope that the snake will get caught up in it.

Good Luck and don't lose faith. I have heard of snakes showing up weeks and even months later. Hopefully it doesn't take that long for you!

Wayne
Click to expand...

Can I ask you a question? I'm sorry, but since my house is kinda big, should I lay down tape everywhere with random bowls of water scattered around? Or should I lay down painters plastic wrap (to possibly hear the snake)?
 
I'd forgotten that flour trick...good suggestions, Sus...

And like Wayne mentioned, the less tack on the tape, the better. He'll coil up in it so you don't want to strip his scales getting it off. If there is residue left on the snake, you can use olive or vegetable oil to remove it, and then dust him with flour again to clean off the oil...but again, painters tape or low-tack masking tape is best!

Good luck, I'm sure he'll turn up for you.
 
thank you guys for the suggestions! I will fly the tape and flour for a couple days and see if there are any results. I might have to deal with a frightened and very angry mother, but it is a small price for finding my snake ^^
 
LBoz said:
You HAVE told your mom he's missing, right? :grin01:
Click to expand...

hahahah not yet xD but hoping I won't have too. My mom has this incredible fear of reptiles, which probably explains why she will never enter my room hahah. I have two iguanas, and a corn snake (which is currently MIA... T.T)

But regarding my snake, I actually have this room downstairs, and what is special about this room is that the floors are able to heat up to the degree I want it to heat up too. *it was for my grandparents, who liked everything hot hot hot* Which leads to my questions (sorry if I am annoying or bugging anyone!!)

1. Do you think if I used that room, and heated up the floors overnight, would the snake be able to "detect" or find that room?

2. How are snakes able to find food and water if set up?
 
You have balls of steel not telling your mother that it has escaped. You do realise by not telling her, she is the one that will find it. Oh yes, its gonna happen! :) keep us up dated.
 
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