This afternoon I decided to build a bigger habitat for my toads, which involves a new lid made out of 1/2 inch hardware cloth. I had just the pieces I need on top of my big screen cages for my larger snakes, to keep the roof door from getting pushed in should a cat jump on top of the cage. Well, when I went to take the wire off Gonzo's cage and replace it with a better stronger material, I noticed the two little latches that keep the roof door closed were ajar, and the lid was open a bit. So I did a meticulous roust of the cage but alas, no Gonzo! Aw..many laments and cuss words!!!! My biggest tamest prettiest Pacific gopher has ESCAPED! And the front door near the cage has been open all day. I searched the cabin but felt futile, like searching for a drowned sailor on board the ship he fell off of. Then several hours later I looked in the ivy that grows next to the front steps, thinking just maybe she was in there, however unlikely after all this time.
And there stretched out next to the steps in this ivy I saw her big stout middle! Once I got her out of the ivy she wrapped herself around my hand and stayed like that for an hour. Finally my arm got really tired so I returned her to her home, with some major improvements to the roof door. The bulls have the same type cage so I upgraded their door security, too.
An ironic twist to this story; earlier in the day before I had noticed the escapee, I had released my three wild caught gopher snakes over at my friend's house, since he has a major gopher infestation, and no cats. Being wild I expect them to do very well there. Plush pampered Gonzo I would not expect her to make it in the wild so I am very happy I found her.
Petey the cat checks her out. Behind her is the ivy porch tangle.
