Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

I had an sinaloan about a year ago escape from his cage and mysteriously vanish. He wasn't a big guy, maybe 2 1/2 feet long managed to pry the lid off of his tank....and was gone.

Fast forward to Tuesday (2 days ago). I come home, head to the bathroom and there he is, laying in my shower. Thin, doesn't seem to have gotten any longer, a little worse for wear (some bruising in his midsection), but alive!

If you didn't before think that snakes could be happy, you should have seen him. Drank a lot of water, ate a f/t mouse and seems to be doing okay at least for now.

Here's where I want some advice: My current plan is to have him get a few meals down, then take a closer look at his bruising and also inspect for mites/ticks and anything out of the ordinary. I have no idea where he has been, I'm in an 1100 sq. ft. condo and me and my roommate tore the place apart looking for him. Any additional advice, thoughts, concerns? I've raised several snakes, but never really had to nurse one back to health.

Thanks.
Ablueflame

Don't rush into feeding him too quick .. let him pass each meal before the next and ease him over a month or 2 back to normal meals. Sounds like you know that though - you should be OK. There isn't much you can do except hope it pulls through. After a shed or 2 maybe you will see an improvement in the skin. Some moist paper towels would probably help the dehydration of the skin and shedding.
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Jon Wedow
Sharp Dressed Snakes

sounds curious,got any pics?....great news though.that's always a good feeling when one of those darned expert escapee lampropeltids resurfaces.thinking back over the years,i've probably had about a half dozen or so escapees(maybe more) and i don't think any of them were not kings or milks.those guys just seem to really have that 'nose for freedom'.i would echo what the first response said and stress rehydrating the little guy.
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"with head raised regally,and gazing at me with lidless eyes,he seemed to question with flicks of his long forked tongue my right to trespass on his territory" Carl Kauffeld

Here are some pics, just took them a min ago.

Let me know if you think I should be more worried than I am.

another pic

last one

Awesome find, I have a kenyan sand that escape 10 years ago that I am still holding out a small peice of hope for

I wouldn't worry to much about those scales. It looks like the damage that happens when a shed has been stuck for a while. I bet after a few sheds it mostly goes away.

Best,
Vinny
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“There is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that whilst this planet has gone on cycling according to the fixed laws of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” -C. Darwin, 1859

Natural Selection Reptiles

The bruising looks like scars. Glad you found it.
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Shannon in Reno
1.0 savannah monitor (Pombe-means "beer" in Swahili)
2.4 dogs
1.0 cat
5.32 rats
6.44 mice
7.50 chickens
1.2 beardies
0.1 black rat snake
~500 hissers
1 giant millipede
0.1 Chissel tooth kangaroo rat
1.1 rabbits
1.0 wonderful husband

Great story and happy to hear you got him back. I lost my MBK last week and thought for sure she was gone. Several days later, I see her crawling out of the toilet in the basement. She apparently was hiding in the pipes in my upstairs toilet, because I noticed the toilet was clogged and wasn't flushing properly. I guess all the flushing got her moving again and she led her to another pipe leading to the basement toilet. It's possible the snake could have somehow got into your pipes and could have been stuck there and finally figured out a way out. Just a thought.

Its possible I guess, no idea where he was hiding out.

I referred to them as "bruises" rather than scars because I'm still hoping they go away after a shed or two. I guess I'm just trying to be optimistic. As long as there is no lasting effect from the physical damage I'll be happy. If anyone else has any opinions or suggestions, please post.

Thanks to all who have responded thus far.

-ABlueflame

Bruises... scars...
whatever you wanna call them.
they don't look bad at all.
they'll look better and possibly disappear after some sheds.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com
^ Updated 9/23

I'd take your sinny into a vet for a general checkup if you havent already, just to make sure there isnt something going on under the surface that you cant see. Worms, bugs, whatever, these can all hide, as I'm sure you already know. Just an idea. That's great you got yours back though, it gives me hope of finding my rosy boa that escaped about 5 months back.

Julie

I have a simular story but I didnt have to wait as long to find her. She had escaped out of the cage located in the back right corner of the house. After realizing this had happened I went to go get a flash light to look under some furnature, thats when I noticed a bright red snake sneaking out the dog door. The dog door is located in the front left side of the house!! Its almost as if she had a sense to find the fresh air or something. Theres alot of hallways and rooms to go through to get to the dog door! I also figured she couldnt of been gone for more that 2 days.

Glad you found it!!

My advice is to hydrate the snake quite a bit. One easy method is to put the snake into a plastic shoebox (with air holes) and about 1/3 inch of water, no more than that needed. Let him sit there for about 5 minutes. You can add a little baking soda too if his skin abrasion looks raw.

I found an adult sinaloan after about 9 months. A little thin and dehydrated. He bounced back nicely.
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Mark

Thanks for the message but Loki (snake's name) beat you to it. He spent the better part of a day soaking in his water dish/swimming pool.

He's eaten 2 mice since being found and doesn't seem to have any problems passing them.

Both my tangerine honduran and Loki are going to be shedding soon so I'll be able to see how things are going after that.

Everyone, thank you for the advice and kind words.

-ABlueflame