Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok i hope some of you guys can help me here and i appreciate it in advance. i just got this little guy (a leuy texas rat) a few weeks ago and everything was perfect. he wasn't a bitter and was eating perfectly. i thought his cage was fool proof and couldn't escape but i'm not used to such small snakes. i have a ball and a mexican black king but he was purchased when he was large and the balls are pretty big when there babies. anyways, i think he escaped through a gap in the sliding tank cover.

i just want to know if you guys have some tips on finding him. he's been gone for almost 2 days and i've searched everywhere(closets, boxes full of junk, under carpets, etc.). I am just hoping that he didnt not go down the air duct. what are the possibilities he could have done this because the air is usually on and its pretty cold in there. he shouldn't be attracted to a cold venting system would he? how could can these guys climb say up a tables leg? havent really been checking on top of anything, only things close to the ground cause he's only a foot maybe? are there any kings of traps i can use with a mouse or a heat lamp or something? i know about the flour trick but its too messy. also, how long can he live without water? i know they can live a while without food but what about water? should i put some out in every room? any other help or hints are appreciated. i miss this guy so much and just want him to be found before its too late.

thanks again everyone,

alex

Well never give up hope. I don't want to sound negative but hatchlings and yearlings almost never turn up.I'd say 80% of the time you will never find them. My yearling yellow rat snake escaped in June and I tried every trick in the trade and no luck. I checked every where and I feel he went into my vents where he either still is or died from some sort of lung problems from the dust or whatever.

There is a few types of traps you can use. You can actually buy live snake traps and bait it with a rodent and hope he turns up. You could always make your own. An old shoe box with a tiny hoole drilled into the side just big enough for the snake to fit into. Inside the shoebox you can put a hide that the snake is use to,a water dish and a live fuzzy. You can check it every day and see if you get lucky.

I have lost three snakes since I started keeping snakes when I was a young kid. One I found 2 days later sitting on a window ledge soaking up some sun. He was an adult. The other two were the yearling yellow rat snake,the other was a very small garter snake. Well the garter snake never turned up and so far no hide or hair from the yellow. Don't give up though,I haven't. Although I have stopped putting out the traps I still look for him at night time every once in awhile in hopes that I get lucky.

one thing you do want to look at is that they do like to climb...all colubrids do. so you may want to try looking on top of things, however i'm sorry to say I have to agree with him when he said that it's very unlikely to find your baby snake...but still never give up hope. My cousin lost his corn snake about 15 years ago or something one fall then the next spring his dad was cleaning out the garage it fell out of the attic onto him while he was cleaning, lol.
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

First of all- Good Luck! They can be hard to find. Most rat snakes I've lost and found have ended up off of the floor. If you have a dresser or desk in the room, carefully pull all the drawers out and check inside the frame of the furniture (I've had 3 snakes that always crawled up into the furniture. Use a flashlight and really check all the crevices and corners. My last snake escape ended up behind a box on a shelf about 4 inches off the floor. I had a yearling everglades show up out in the hall (crawled under the door) on a small shelf under a book. Keep looking, it probably crawled along a wall to the nearest dark hiding place.
Lora

I've had snakes escape and I've always been lucky so far (knocking on wood). I had a 3-month old radiated escape from me a couple of years ago. Not being the first time I had an AWOL I did a thorough search of the room but I didn't panic. I discovered her crawling across the kitchen floor from out of a closet a couple of days later.

My advice is don't panic and make absolutely certain that the most obvious places that are as close as possible to the cage are ruled out. Check them at least twice. Then just keep your eyes open.

thanks everyone for the help. i'm gonna keep looking everyday but i hope he just pops out in front of me. that would be a great surprise. also, do you think he could have crawled down a flight of stairs? i've only really been looking up stairs. the room he was in was at the end of a hall way too.

thanks again guys,

alex

They can be ANYWHERE in your house. Basement,in a box,behind a picture frame,in a plant,just about anywhere! Like I said I lost mine about 2 mths ago and still look but no luck yet.