Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am sure it was only a matter of time before it happened to me but it is still frustrating. One of my girls (3-4 months old) got out last night and now I have to find her. I am going to lay out a heating pad with an appropriate hide on it and a food item. I am pretty sure she is hungry as I was holding off feeding her for a couple of days in order to try and switch her to rats from mice. The question I have is do BPs hunt by scent, sight, sound, or a combination of these? I was going to put out a F/T adult and thought maybe if I used either caged adult (small cage made of hardware cloth) or a pinkie this might make things more enticing for her what with the sound and vibration of the prey. Also if scent is the big thing I could put the dead mouse on the heating pad (good thing it is in the shop and not the house).

Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated, as there are literally hundreds of places for her to hide in the shop. I don’t believe she got out side, as there is only the one door in use. I was also thinking of dropping the ambient temperature in the shop to the mid 60’s but wasn’t sure if this would make her more lethargic or the heating pad more appealing?

Again any help would be appreciated, Thanks
Bruce

When Mine used to escape he would head straight for my dads room.I guess he knew who hated snakes the most! I know that doesn't help cause yours is in a shop. I would check corners, anything that would have at least 3 sides to it, cause they love to feel secure. Too bad you dont have any motion sensing devices, I know that sounds funny but when your looking for some thing close to the ground, that would help. He may not be inside something he may also be under it. Hope it helps. Im sure you'll find her. Once you trully give up, she will come out.LOL

put a mouse in a aquarium (live) and then put a cloth over the cover with a small whole cut out. when the BP goes in, it will have a hard time getting out, but it will get out. this will save you some time. (maybe 2-3 hrs at the most)

1. - LOOK FOR YOUR SNAKE NOW!!!!!!!!

2. If you don't find her, see step 1

Seriously, the longer you wait, the worse it is for your snake. Ball pythons are simple creatures - they want shelter and heat and food, normally in that order. If a snake escapes, it most likely will be found within 30 feet of it's enclosure.

In regards to how they hunt - I believe heat and scent would be the top two, again in order. The pits on their heads are heat sensing pits, just like in rattlers and other pit vipers. These guys have built in FLIR (forward looking infra-red, a target acquisition system used by the military).

Good luck finding her.

Neil