or.... Never Turn Your Back on an Escape Artist!
So here I am: doing my daily cage maintenance (check for poop, change water, etc) on the BPs' cage, and had the lid open with the boys lurking in their hide. Safe and sound, right? Riiiiiiiiight.
I hear massive squeaking coming from the rattery and go to investigate. I've got babies on the way and haven't had a chance to separate out the mother. It's not time yet, phew. I play with the rats for a bit, forgetting that the SNAKE CAGE IS STILL OPEN.
If you own a serpent, you know that Snakes Are Not Stupid. They know how to capitalize on an opportunity when it presents itself. Both snakes wasted no time in getting OUT of the cage and sequestering themselves in different parts of the snake room.
Frank, I found easily enough. He was wedged in the narrow gap between the open door and the door jamb, STUCK. Unhappy snake. Like all pythons, Frank is fairly heavy-bodied for his length. He was STUCK. I tried gently coaxing him and assisting him. Still STUCK. Really unhappy snake. Poor guy hissed and carried on like Faust. Just about the point where I was going to get my tools to take the door off the hinges, I decided to take advantage of his pissed-off state and tickled his tail. He hates that. Sure enough, he worked to withdraw his tail and FINALLY got free. Happy snake. He had got himself into what he was sure was a nice dark, cramped hidey-hole too narrow for the marauding four-limbs to get into. Until I closed the door, that is.....
(My co-worker reading over my shoulder says that this is hard to visualize. Picture the open door to the room, flat against the wall. To a snake, the resultant opening looks like it goes to a nice, secure hole. When I close the door, the crack closes and the "hole" goes away. There, is that clearer, Bob?)
Bubba was harder to find. He's a smaller snake and can get into smaller places. I couldn't find him for love or money. Searched for an hour. No snake. Fine. I decided to set a TRAP. I opened the window (it gets chilly at night here) and left the computer on. Guess who I found this morning, coiled up on the only warm spot in the room?
There's a REASON why I don't keep venomous snakes........
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