Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, my brazilian rainbow escaped sometime around july. I've been patiently waiting for him to re-emerge but i'm getting worried with winter coming soon.

i'm hoping he is still in the house or at least hasn't ventured very far. i've looked at some "humane" traps online but don't have the cash flow right now. i put a live mouse out near his cage for awhile but that didn't work either.

any ideas?

start searching any place that is dark and secluded, like closets, attics, etc. Also, check behind your hot water heater and any other warm spots in the house. Leave a tub with a heat pad beneath it in a dark room. Put a hide box in the tub and a f/t rodent near the hide. Swap this food item out to keep it fresh. IF your snake is still in the house, he will be looking food and heat. Provide these and you'll have a better chance of finding him.

Also, walk around outside and check storage sheds, garage, bushes, beneath the porch, etc. I had a ratsnake escape and he was found outside a month later climbing onto the porch.

Good luck
hope you find him
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1.0.0 Great Plains Ratsnake
1.0.0 Corn, Lavender Aztec het for Amel
0.1.0 Black Ratsnake
0.0.1 Texas Rat (tame)
1.0.0 Broad Banded Water Snake, Hypo
1.0.0 Black Bassador Retriever
2.1.0 Godchildren, 1 Evil, 2 possible hets

Another common hiding spot is the bathroom, check behind the toilet tank and quite often there is a open area under the sink cabinet accessible through a small gap at the top of the kick board.

Two tricks for knowing your snake is still out cruising around....

Flour sprinkled around the baseboards will shown when he pases by. Similar and more real time is stacked up empty soda/beer cans also along the baseboards. They tend to follow solid edges, if it pases by the cans and knocks them over, you could hear them and come out to find the escapee.

BTW, how old is the rainbow boa? Obviously older ones will do better for longer periods at less than optimal conditions.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I can't really remember how old it is... 1 year? 2 years? he's not very big, under 3ft. These are great ideas, i really appreciate them!

I have a few animals that have escaped (I'm not proud to say) and have actively torn the mess that I call a basement and have often found them under boxes. I have an unfinished basement and have once found a snake in the rafters.

One more dark, warm spot is the compressor on your refrigerator. The motor releases warm air from the fridge's cooling process and I have seen escaped herps take up hiding there before.
They often turn up in unexpected places and times. I lost a corn snake for 3 months when I was a kid and my mom found it while vacuuming... Luckily for all of us she found it wither her eyes and not the vacuum........

Good Luck!

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lost in the jungle somewhere
Z