Reptile & Amphibian Forums

omg....my first snake......escaped

i tried looking under the tv and so on......cant find him...is there a better chance of finding him at night? where should I leave "bait"....guys i totally feel like crap.....my tank really seemed escape proof...i dont know how he did it!

he's only like 8 weeks old......advice please =(
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"Isn't it funny you hear a phone ring and it could be anybody, but a ringing phone has to be answered doesn't it?"

Implicit,start tearing up your room.You need to look in every nook and cranny in your room.Something that small can hide anywhere.Look real close at the hidind spots around your cage,then spread out your search through out your room.Snakes will follow the wall so look for hiding spaces next to your walls.Good Luck..Paul.

After 100% tearing out your room, head RIGHT TO THE BASEMENT, tear that out. I've had 4 escape (hatchlings from those damn cheap plastic shoeboxes), and found 3 of them in my basement. I know the 4th will show up there eventually. Check the basement three times a day and especially at night time. Get out the flash light...

it's all about luck...

If I were you though, I'd tell your dad that the evil snake spirits have unleased your new snake into the house with the eventual plan of growing up, coming back and eating him for telling you, you couldn't have a snake in the first place.

Remember, sacrifice a chicken and three toads at the strike of midnight with candle drippings burning your scalp...

:did I get that right Gargoyle? LOL

funny that it ran away on me, i bet u were waitin for that....
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"Isn't it funny you hear a phone ring and it could be anybody, but a ringing phone has to be answered doesn't it?"

to freekin warn you when you were asking about what to use to cover the tank with. If you used anything other than a certified critter cage by All-Glass then you asked for what you got...

Locking lids are essential for the first time owner. There's a 99.9% chance a snake will escape from anything else.

Get past my sarcasm and re-read what I wrote, you will find him/her if you low in the lowest places in your house...

honestly, i have no f*cking idea how he escaped....no way could he have escaped unless he was an octopus....can u give me ideas of "traps" please? or times to look for corns.....is it better to illumunate the whole place while looking for corn or use a flash light
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"Isn't it funny you hear a phone ring and it could be anybody, but a ringing phone has to be answered doesn't it?"

Forget the Q & A for now.......Just keep up the search. You have some good suggestions, but you need to keep at it. In fishing, you don't catch anything with your lure out of the water.........Right now, you won't find your snake on the 'net.
And, when you do find him (and I think you will)....if you haven't named him yet........how about Houdini.
Looking forward to your post TOMORROW that he is safe and sound.
Good luck. Duffy

np

>>np
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"Isn't it funny you hear a phone ring and it could be anybody, but a ringing phone has to be answered doesn't it?"

If ya ever find the little turd, duffy found him the perfect name.Good luck implicit.Try loosing a 10 foot burm.It wasnt my fault he got out,my brother didnt secure the locks,It took several weeks to find him.Just keep looking..

are you f*cking kidding me? how the hell can someone lose a 10 FOOT SNAKE!.....or were u being sarcastic? well anyways.....i dont think a 10 foot snake would be hard to find....

mine is only 12 inches and about 8 weeks old......im gonna have a hard time..
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"Isn't it funny you hear a phone ring and it could be anybody, but a ringing phone has to be answered doesn't it?"

Finding Your Lost Snake

One of the worst, yet most common experiences in keeping cornsnakes is having yours escape. It is almost inevitable for the new keeper. I even lost my first one for about 6 hours. This page is designed to help you systematically find your lost snake.

Important things to consider:
The number one thing to do FIRST when a baby or small juvie is lost: COVER THE VENTS!!!!!!!! (yes, the slots are big enough... he got out of the tank, didn't he?) A snake may be attracted to the heat coming from them and crawl in, and be lost forever. If it has been a few days and you have left the vents uncovered, do not despair. There is only a small chance the snake has gone in.

If your snake is a baby or young juvenile, then you must concentrate your search from the floor to about 3 or 4 feet up. The snake most likely will not climb stairs, but they may go down stairs, so keep that in mind.

If you have lost a large juvenile (30 inches) or adult, then you must look from the floor up (on top of dressers, closets, etc). They are avid climbers and may travel upstairs. Also, the vents are not that important because the larger snakes won't risk getting stuck in those little slots. But, if you don't want to risk it, cover them anyway.

Ok. Start Searching!
I know this may sound stupid, but check in the cage one more time, and this time remove bedding, and any other things that are in the cage. Just in case... you never know!

On the day of the escape, start looking with a flashlight, no matter what part of the day it is. When mine escaped, I did this and found her in about 5 or 6 hours. Remeber to look in places not once or twice, but at least three times. They are expert hiders and will occasionally switch hiding spots while you are searching.

Places to look:

Some snakes have been found under stoves, so look there
In the Laundry room (behind the machines, in piles of clothes)
In shoes
In potted plants
Under furniture
On top of furniture
In furniture (drawers, cushioins, cabinets, etc)
Near the fireplace, if it has been burning (it is warm)
In warm rooms especially, near floor lamps that are turned on
In small crevices, like stacks of magazines, CDs, etc (I found mine on top of our stack of CDs against the wall... She was well hidden!)

Snakes are good climbers, so remember not to restrict your search area to low levels. Look in anything that you think your snake could have climbed up onto (or into).

If you dont find your snake during the day, don't give up. There are other techniques to use in order to find your snake at night, or while you are gone. Make sure the rooms are undisturbed at night or while you are trying to capture your snake.

1. If you would not mind doing this, put a inch-wide line of cornstarch across the openings of every doorway for over night. Then, in the morning, if he crawled through any doorways, you will know which way and will be able to restrict your search area. (the cornstarch can be vacuumed right up)

2. If you are willing to loose a night of sleep, then you can use this method. Put plastic bags along the corners of each wall, and if and when your snake crawls along the corners onto a plastic bag, you will be able to hear him and then go get him. In the meantime, you would just have to wait until you hear something.

3. Another method is to set up a heat lamp in a room with food near it (if he hasnt eaten in a while). Dont put it in the middle of the room, put it near the wall of one side. Close the door. Do this during the night and if the pinky is gone, you will know which room to look in. If it is still there, put the lamp in a different room for another night. (you should be careful about pets eating the mice... it won't hurt them, but it won't help your search either)

4. Something else to do is to make one room warmer than all of the others, and your snake may migrate to that room.

5. A technique that I recently became aware of is to cut the top 1/3 off a 2 liter soda bottle and turn it inward and tape it there. Then, poke holes in the bottle and put a nice, warm pinky in. Lay it in a room overnight and your snake may crawl in to eat. The setup of the trap will discourage it from crawling out.

Those are really the only things that I can think of. Some may work, some might not. It all depends. If you cant find your snake after days, don't give up. Snakes can live in a house for a surprisingly long time. Some older snakes have been said to live for 1 year or more inside a house (they had to have found food somewhere...)!

Remember, always keep your eye out for your snake, no matter what you are doing. You may stumble upon him! (it has happened)

GOOD LUCK!

he's active at around 11pm....its about 2 more hours and im gonna keep the house as dark as possible and start looking for him.....hopefully he didnt go into the vent....i already closed it, i think my snake has been gone for about 8 hours now....

well thanks once again....and sh*t....if i happen to catch him....how am i gonna make sure he dont escape, i dont have a new cover.! F*CK!!!!!!!!
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"Isn't it funny you hear a phone ring and it could be anybody, but a ringing phone has to be answered doesn't it?"

Be sure to check windows too, when I lost my hatchling after 5 days I saw his tail hanging out of a blind.