Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So my buddy lost his Female ghost when it somehow escaped from his rack. It was in a closed room, but he could not find the snake, although he kept finding stuff knocked over, etc...

It is two months later and he still hasn't found her. He looked under everything and inside everything he can think of. He isn't too concerned, but I am thinking two months is about 59 days too long to have a fugitive running around. Any suggestions on capturing a runaway??
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when life hands you lemons, make super lemons, bumblebees, etc...

Long time no see!!!!

Many years ago - I took an extended vacation to Australia and left my balls with a friends of mine. About a month later I got a letter saying that one of the balls had gotten loose and they'd been trying to find it and couldn't blah blah blah. Fast forward 8 months later I return to pick up my snakes and one empty tank. Fast forward two more months later and I'm at a raging party at their house ... have a few too many ... spend the night on their couch. In the morning I woke up with my snake staring me in the face. He looked a little thin but quite healthy.

My advice is after you've tossed the house several times and finally come to the realization that you aren't going to find the sucker.... keep the house safe for her - make sure that it cant get out or into toilets, pipes, faucets and walls - under refrigerators, ovens or in washer/dryers - and double check every time you run the garbage disposal. Eventually it will surface when it's ready.

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Tosha
JET Pythons

(CJBianco explaining the origins of the BP market.)
"In the beginning Bob created the Ball Python market. And the market was without morph, and wild traits were upon the industry. And Bob said, Let there be morph, and there was morph. And Bob saw the morph, that it was good; and Bob divided the morph from the wild trait. And Bob called the morph Albino, and the wild trait Normal. And the Albino and the Heterozygous Albino were the first investment.
-- Christopher 1:1-1:5"

Yeah it has been a long time, I stop by here every once in a while to see how everyone is doing, but I don't post often. It's been a slow year here. I just got back from a month in China to find that none of my females has produced any clutches.

Tasha, as I recall, didn't you find a snake in one of your ceiling lights once?? One of my ghosts got out recently too, she pushed three other tubs open from behind and then stayed behind the tub in the rack. Interestingly only one or the other three snakes decided to make a run for it, making a new home behind my refrigerator on the warm coils. Needless to say it took me awhile to figure out what was going on when I walked in to find 4 tubs open and one snake behind a tub.
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when life hands you lemons, make super lemons, bumblebees, etc...

I had a HUGE female get lose and I found her in a tiny shelf LOL! 2 and a half months....

ck

>>So my buddy lost his Female ghost when it somehow escaped from his rack. It was in a closed room, but he could not find the snake, although he kept finding stuff knocked over, etc...
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>>It is two months later and he still hasn't found her. He looked under everything and inside everything he can think of. He isn't too concerned, but I am thinking two months is about 59 days too long to have a fugitive running around. Any suggestions on capturing a runaway??
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>>when life hands you lemons, make super lemons, bumblebees, etc...

Tell him to start looking on top of theings as well(they do climb..just not very well)..
Of course there are ways to find them(tins cans for noise/flour on the floor to show a trail,etc),but he may want to look into something like this as well(since it has been so long since he has seen her) ---> http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page100.html
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Charles Glaspie

i found mine in a shoe when she went missing.but i have also heard of people setting up a low open setup(bin) putting a hide hut and bowl of water and a pinkie or rat pup in it and leave it alone over night. next morning look in the hide and u might be suprised.

Two of my snakes escaped very recently and I found them both in about a week. I had a lot of good suggestions, but they hadn't been gone that long, and I don't know if its different since shes been gone for like 8 weeks.

Since the little girls been gone for so long and used to being regularly fed, she may be hungry. When my snakes escaped, I put little ventilated cages around the house with mice in them and layed flour down around the cages, in door ways, along walls, or other places I thought they may be crawling about. The flour worked like a charm and helped me track them down. Its easy to sweep and vaccum up and not harmful to the snakes. Another good suggestion I was given was to get plastic bags and crumple them up behind couches and in corners. They're quiet (obviously) and that can help so you can hear her slide through it if she's in the area.

Check places you wouldn't think shed be. Like in book cases (someone once told me they found their 4 foot ball in a 2-inch, 2 ring, binder in the bookshelf), in the mechanics of the washer and dryer, around the hot water heater for warmth, and behind the stove, on top of cabinets, etc...

Good luck to your friend.

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

I suggested the flour thing too, but he didn't want to put flour on the floor for some reason or another.

I think I am going to have to go over there and do it myself...
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when life hands you lemons, make super lemons, bumblebees, etc...

That guy needs to just deal with it and put the flour on the floor. I'd be doin' that in a heart beat. I think it's worth it to make a mess in order to find a snake. If he won't do it, then you do. I'd either put flour or plastic bags on the floor and maybe she'll turn up. Good Luck.