Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Saturday is Hunter's feeding day, so i went to take him out before he ate to hold him for awhile, i took off the lid to his critter cage and i could not find him. I cleaned out his cage entirely, looked all around the living room where his cage is kept, checked the kitchen and i could not find him. I left out a fuzzy and nothing. I don't know how he could have escaped because his cage was secured with the plastic pegs that lock it shut. On friday I was out all day with a friend and both my children were gone for the day, my fiance was home but upstairs on the cpu and I am wondering if someone came in and took him. I even cut open the bottom of my couches to look for him and had no luck. I spent three days searching and crying, I love him so much and don't know what else to do. Any suggestions would be great until then i can only wait i guess.
Thanks in advance!

the great thing about snakes is that they generally can go quite a long time without food/water, so if he got loose, don't panic yet. My florida used to get loose every time I went away, and I would get a phone call from my mother... he was usually in the bottom of a bag in a completely different room. So don't underestimate their ability to hide. As you have done, do another thorough check room by room. if he still doesn't turn up, you can do things like leaving food and water out, Ive heard of putting a light dust of flour on the floor to look for a track too. And don't lose heart; we once lost a taiwan beauty snake from my work and found her 5 months later, 2 stories down in the basement in a box, and she was fine. Good luck

....a missing snake is rarely stolen, but Ive suffered them all including...unbelievably....but true...my freeking baby girl eating a neonate rubber boa [I called it "meat stick" same name I had for vienna sausages! How do I say...errr my bad!
...anyway...assume its loose; close up your house, put a water bowl in a major corner & heres whats worked for me....[I have a super tolerant wife..] drag a f/t mouse along the baseboards to lay down a scent trail. Tie off the mouse w/ 8" of fishing line or nylon twine, tie it off to a chair legg; whola come home from fun & theres your snagged snake
If it were a hot....& you lived in an urban area...you should evacuate the house & if a quick search didnt turn it up, one should put down a tracking material such as a layer of talc or flour & request advise from your DNR. This is why I wont keep them..too much personal responsibility!

Good luck catching your king...RxR

I am sure he got out by finding a way out of the cage. Snakes are escape artists.

Try and see if you can contain the area as snakes tend to hide and then travel when nobody is around. Sometimes they get out and find a tight spot and stay there for a wek or two before they move.

If you live in a house i would place boards around the sides of the house for him to hide under before moving away from the premises. Thats how I find a lot of my escapies.

Ok...I agree, likely an escapee. To my experience Kingsnakes usually go low when they hide (ratsnakes tend to climb more). But then I did find a 2.5' streached along a suspended lamp wire eight feet up from the floor.

The best method of locating your snake is to wait till about a half hour or so after the lights are off in your house. make sure the temp does not fall below about 75*F or so (cold air will keep him under cover). Then patrol your house with a flashlight. The other alternative is to do a major house cleaning-get into every shoe shelf and box that he might fit into.

I had a three foot Florida that was loose in my house for seven months before I came home (after dark) and found her in the middle of the living room.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Thank You all for your replys. I really hope I find him, I never knew I would love that little guy so much. And to think when I started this whole pet snake thing I didn't even know if I would like it for sure. But I do and I now have a new addition to my family my Fiance bought me a month and a half old ball python. I just need a name for it now. Next week my fiance is getting his ball python, so after I find Hunter we will be two ball pythons and a florida king. Anyway I am going to check my basement today for Hunter, I didn't think he would go down there but from reading it appears they will go anywhere! Thank You all again, I will let you know if I find him.

Good luck finding him. I've learned from personal experience that young snakes will get on the ledge under the clamp tops and they are strong enough to flex and make a wedge for them to crawl out of. When they are out, the top will still be clamped. I've watched my bullsnake do it when she was young and it was amazing.

A lost snake is a good excuse to clean up all the clutter laying around while u look for her! Seal up your room with a towel under the door and hope for the best.
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Matt from Minnesota