Reptile & Amphibian Forums

At around 8 last night my moms 4 lb yorkie started going psycho, which isn't that uncommon because she thinks she is a rottweiller and needs to protect everyone in the house. I figured I should go check things out just in case something was wrong. I walked around the corner, and by now my australian shepherd was at my side, and just about had a heart attack. My Central American Red Tail was all the way out from under my door and making his way to the hall closet. He didn't really seem bothered at all by the dogs. I had both dogs locked in other room in like a split second, and then i started looking for my snake in the blankets in the closet. Before I put him back in his tank I started inspecting it to see how he escaped, cuz the other red tail i have in there didn't get out. He some how manage to seperate the screen from the glass of the lid. The lid is one where is split in two sections and you can either take the whole thing off or just open one side. Has anyone had any problems with these kinds of lids, I've had this particular tank for about a year and this hasn't happened before. I read a previous post where someone commented that there male was trying to get away from the female, could this be the case with mine. If so should i seperate the two? They are both about 3 now and I've had them together since they were little bitty and haven't had this problem before, is it because its breeding season? Sorry the post is so long but i am really curious about why he wants out so bad, because he is played with on a daily basis.

If you're talking about the kind of lid I *think* you are, then yes, I've heard of snakes pushing through at the hinged area where it meets the cage side. I have a couple of the hinged-screen tank lids and I use the clips on the back and sides of one half so that half cannot be pushed up and then just on the front of the second half which I use for access. Some snakes are just sneakier than others and become real escape artists. It's sometimes hard to out-think the little devils. BTW, glad you found your snake so quickly...it usually isn't easy when you discover the snake is gone after the fact. Maybe you should give the yorkie an extra dog biscuit for being a pointer as well?

Raven