Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased my first proposed breeder pair of snakes in August of last year, a pair of cali kings. My banded female just found her way out of the cage. I brought her a hopper and noticed she was nowhere to be found in the cage. I tore my house apart trying to find her new hiding place but to no avail. I also stayed up in the dark with a flashlight and went looking for her. Ive got three cats in the house which I locked into the bedroom furthest from the cage since it would be least likely for her to be in. I had the hopper run across the floor to leave a scent trail and left the cage open hoping she would come back, eat, and then hide in her cage before escaping, but she did not return. The hopper remains. Does anyone else have any suggestions? I really want my baby girl back!

Keep looking and remember snakes can hide in the smallest nooks and crannies. There is a chance it will still show up. I had a Glossy Snake escape because I forgot to replace the clip holding the lid closed. A thorough search yielded no signs of the animal. I figured I would eventually find it dead because I had two cats. Close to 4 weeks later I found it crawling across the living room floor in the middle of the day. My cats were old and paid no attention to it. The snake is still thriving in my collection.

Randy

Thank you soooo much. Thats exactly what I wanted to hear. I had a few escapes when I was young, I found them all rather quickly. I know she is hungry and she was out of her hide several days in a row, so I was hoping she would be out cruising. Im just worried she found her way outside. I really hope she turns up soon, I still have a mouse waiting for her!

Where did you get your glossy from?

My Glossy is wild caught in S Nevada. It is a good captive but it seems to be prone to obesity. I have dropped its feeding from weekly to every 10 to 14 days. When it escaped I believe it was hiding inside a guitar amplifier of which I have many. The one in question is a sealed box except for a small slit along the bottom to allow air to equalize when the speaker moves. No, I never used it while the snake was missing LOL. I also know it had cruised around my book case at some point because it left me some cleaning behind some of the books. But keep looking, every nook and crany. I might even be tempted to get up in the middle of the night or early early morning and look around. Hopefully it will turn up safe and sound. Most of us have had escapes at some point and it is important to live and learn from them. Be very prudent in evaluating how it escaped and how to prevent a repeat performance.

Randy

Thanks for the advice, Ill do anything I can to get her back. Are most escapes eventually found?

We find a lot of those glossys out here in California. Ive never kept one though. Cool snakes.

This is an older pic my Glossy from about the time of its escape. It is a bit larger now. It has never attempted to bite even when first captured and is usually a good eater. Some sources still refer to it as a subspecies of A elegans but the latest sources usually list it is a seperate species from A elegans.

Randy