Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I always feed my snakes in their everyday cages. I don't know why, but today I decided to put my eastern in a empty shoebox (with no substrate) in a different slot to feed. Went to check on him about 45 minutes later and this is what I found.

I have had 6 snakes in this rack system for over 6 months and this is the first time any of them have got out of their shoebox. I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Back to the original box for feedings, and note to self: "use this slot for supplies only!"
-----
Joe

Wow Joe!,.......if THAT awesome animal got loose never to be seen again, I'd almost want to break out the gun, and commit suicide!..LOL!

Glad you have that "bad boy" back in his enclosure(that was a male, right?)

If you think it might escape again, and want it kept safe, I'll keep it for you..hahaha!

take care man, ~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Yep it's a boy; glad the gun cabinet is locked so I have a little time to think about it by the time I find the key; and thanks for offering to help out, lol.

It was a close call. Very glad I didn't leave the house for a while and give him a little more time.
-----
Joe

Yeah, you really did get exceptionally lucky, you could have easily been gone for hours and lost that AWESOME specimen FOREVER!. Glad that didn't happen to you, that would have even made ME sick!..LOL!

I'm assuming you put that rare dude in a different "Fort Knox" setup now..hahaha!

take care, ~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Thanks Doug. He's back in lockup.
-----
Joe

Joe, first let me say WHEW!! That was a close one. But the fact remains that these guys are on point 24/7 about escaping. This is what I do...
I live in an old house, floors are sagging a bit so everything isnt so "tight". In the winter when it gets real cold there are mice that break in to soak up the free heat. Not many, only 1 this year, but not what I want running around. I went and got some glue traps (4/$4)at the store. I put them on the corner beside the snake room door, and the other 3 beside things that are too heavy or inconvenient to move. Well, my acrylic cages are not perfect either. I have had 2 escapes this winter and both times the snakes were caught in the glue traps before I even noticed them missing! Next time to the store I will arm myself with more of these in every inaccessable place I have to avoid escapes in the future. Here is the key, when they get caught in the glue, of course you pull them out carefully...but they are still covered with the glue. Take out BABY POWDER and roll them in it like pizza dough. They will go into a shed cycle and all the glue comes off with the shed!
No more ripping my snake room apart, no more alerting the neighbors,etc..You just have to be vigilant in checking the traps as I cant imagine them lasting too long in them. But its a great way to find a lost snake!Jeff

WD40 and paint thinner also work great.

M,
Not to mention that nippy milks are WAY more laid back when high on solvent fumes... LOL

-Cole

>>Not to mention that nippy milks are WAY more laid back when high on solvent fumes... LOL

I haven't noticed that, but it works great. Just wipe 'em down with isopropyl to remove the solvent residue.

kidding, buddy. Only kidding. I've also found that Isopropanol is good for getting large boids to let go of your flesh... Honestly...
-Cole

WD40?!!? Paint thinner????!!! WOW! Just what I want to dump on my snake! Would this also work to lighten up the black tipping on my hondo?

Yes Jeff, very close. Actually when I was walking over to the rack to check on him I saw his head sicking out along side. You can imagine the confused look on my face! I've checked all 20 slots in the rack, and for some reason that one is just a bit looser than the rest, MAYBE 1/4" at most gap between the box and top!
-----
Joe

So my dad, who lives in a retirement community, calls me one day to tell me about the dead snake he found in the glue trap he'd set out for mice in his place. He said that he had put it in the regrigerator to keep it 'fresh' until I could go there and ID it.

About 4 days later, I show up at his place. He pulls the glue trap out of the fridge and there is a dead black rat baby on there, all twisted and half upside down. As we drank a cup of coffee, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that I thought the snake moved! Just a little twitch of the skin near the glue line. A few more checks, and sure enough, it was still alive!

We sent down to the kitchen for some vegetable oil, and about an hour later I had a baby black rat crawling between my fingers!

I took it home and prepped a cage for it, fed it a pinkie (it ate right away) and after a year or so I had a nice specimen! I gave it to a neighbor for a pet. It had tamed down nicely! Amazing for a snake who spent a week in dark, 40 degree 'weather'...

The mouse my dad was after still comes up and sits on his nightstand to stare at him as he watches TV -- he has never been able to catch that darned mouse!

Landon Johnson

Sweet snake!

Thanks.
-----
Joe

You are grounded and can no longer be trusted with such a valuable animal. Send him to me NOW!!!! LOL

Glad you got him back.

Remember the first rule of herps, its NEVER the $15 corn that gets out.

And its never the $15 corn snake that commits suicide, dies for no reason, gets eaten by its mate, the list goes on....I am an hour away, and I can show up at his door with a paddle and a dunce cap! Got one here, never know when that can come in handy!

Thanks for waking those memories stored deep from back in my college days Jeff, but I'm all set with the paddle and dunce cap, LOL. Can't explain how it happened, but hopefully will never happen again.
-----
Joe

I had 9 N.Pine hatchlings escape at the same time last year. Retrieved all of them in 5 days with glue boards. Use the flat cardboard ones. I have used them for years and they work for lizards of all kinds also.
Use cooking oil(vegetable;olive oil) to remove the snake. It is harmless and works great. Don't use solvents or isopropyl, these can absorb through the skin. I wouldn't want my animal breathing baby powder either.
A snake can last a long time in a glue trap. I have found baby garters that get in my basement caught in traps that I haven't checked for weeks at least. Some are pretty skinny but once loose they act fine.

what type of snake is that?

It is a wild caught eastern milk.
-----
Joe