Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have enjoyed all the tales of all your missing snakes and will continue to search for mine with all the advice you all have given me. Keep them coming.

You could have some luck if you put an enclosure of a few mice, or even used rodent substrate bedding in a container, and put it in an isolated corner in the area it was known to be last. You could throw some blankets, and/or T-shirts over all of it to make a nice concealed nesting site for it to visit when it gets hungry too. And make sure you place some water in it too so it can grab a drink too. Placing some very shallow dishes, or lids with water in them here and there in a few corners along the wall will also help ensure it has water to survive. They can go a VERY long time without food, but not long at all without water. This could make all the difference in finding a live snake, or a dead one.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

My first observation starts with good record keeping. A snake in the latter part of a shed cycle is almost impossible to find when loose because it simply wont move around after finding a nice spot to hide. Otherwise, I crank the heat all the way up and set out glue traps around each possible exit and alongside common walls and in corners. The heat will get the snake moving and the glue traps catch em 95% of the time. I live in an older house, lots of cracks along baseboards etc so they will also use these crevices as thoroughfares. Kings and milks almost always crawl DOWN, rat snakes usually crawl UP. For me UP is not good, other tenants,LOL. Jeff doesnt keep rat snakes. Anyways, when they crawl down they search out either water or heat. While they can go a long time without food, under such conditions they seek out heat so I glue trap around the boiler and if its loose more than 3 days check these often. Dessication can kill a snake in just a few days to a week. Good luck.

One last trick
Tie a strong but thin string to a FT adult mouse bye the tail using a secure square knot. Then tie the other end of the string to something that won't move.You can do several of these and leave them over night.A snake can smell food hundreds of feet away.Its possible the snake will regurge the food item so keep a hide box near the bait.That may help to calm the snake.
Good Luck
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Doug L

>>I have enjoyed all the tales of all your missing snakes and will continue to search for mine with all the advice you all have given me. Keep them coming.

Dougs on the right track with the scenting of the mice.
I once had and escaped red milk snake loose for about a week in the garage. It escaped out of my rack, which was right in front of the garage side door with a 1" gap under it. It had been raining a lot so I thought it still might be in the garage somewhere. I looked high and low for it, but no luck. I had a few baited hides with f/t mice, but no luck. I was unthawing about 20 mice in warm water one evening and thought, I'll give it one more shot, I took a piece of drift wood and dip one end in the water I was soaking the mice in, and then stuck it in a small paper bag and laid it on the floor right at the base of the rack. The next morning I pick up the bag and dump the wood out, and here comes the milk sliding out right behind the wood. ALLRIGHT!!!!!!MADE MY DAY!!!!!
I bet, the smell of the mice unthawing woke him up and got him moving. Then when he found the bag with the drift wood, which was a natural hide to him, decided to hang around trying to find the food. Wrap the bag snug around the wood to make the snake feel secure when he enters.
Good Luck;
Bob

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R.Bichlers Colubrids
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