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This sucker is quite the escape artist. This is the 2nd time. First it was in the Regal Reptiles store, where she was gone for months, and she got loose in my snake room sometime last night. She looked like she was planning something too lol, she had just eaten a neonate shorthead 2 days before, and I put a water bowl in her enclosure to drink. I saw her trying to climb up the side of the enclosure, something I've seen her doing a few times before. I poked the cage so she would get scared and back off, and she did.

I went to feed her today, I threw a garter in there, usually when I take off the lid, she pokes her head out of the ceramic cave. And when she didn't, and when she didn't come after the garter, I figured something was up. I lifted up the cave and didn't see her, and I dug through the 0.5 inch of aspen bedding and still couldn't find her.

So I checked all corners of the snake room for her. Lifted up anything she could've been hiding under. I was moving around the boxes in one corner, near a door that leads outside to a patio. Which would've been a 25 foot drop if she went off the patio. And I saw her. Talk about relieved lol, I grabbed her, and she squirmed, probably because I haven't held her in about a month or two, thanks to advice from others.

I put her back into her enclosure, and threw the baby common garter snake back in. 5 minutes later she had it in a neck lock, his time needed to be ended though, when he was born he came out deformed. His head was 3 times bigger than it should be, and he had trouble breathing. I felt really bad about it, but it seriously was the better thing to do.

Man, I have like 30 20 quart rubbermaid containers to contain 3/4 of my collection, and so far I had 2 ringneck snakes escape from them lol. Crap.

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Michael's Place has updated, better caresheets
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
Helmz777@aol.com
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

After putting her back into her enclosure, feeding her, I left her alone. About 4 hours later, I go into the snake room, and I just had this feeling, so I had to check her enclosure before I went to sleep. I shined a flashlight into the cave, and due to me digging through the substrate before, the aspen was all uneven, so there was like a hill of aspen at the cave entrance, so I couldn't see over that. I was praying that she was hiding behind that.

I lifted up the cave, and nothing. Dug through the aspen, nothing. The snake outsmarted me twice, and made me look like a bigger idiot with me reusing the same enclosure.

I looked everywhere again, checked along the walls again with a flashlight, done the halls, even going down the steps a floor down. Nothing. I went back up into the snake room, started moving everything around, I lifted up some newspaper and some books and found her curled up.

She was moved into a small glass tank this time. I think it's a 8 gallon aquarium. With paper towels as substrate, a water bowl, and the cave. I'm really hoping she doesn't get loose a third time with me lol.

Mike
Michael's Place

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Michael's Place has updated, better caresheets
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
Helmz777@aol.com
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

If its a tank buy those metal clips and secure the lid. I have never had a single snake ever escape in 6 years.
Just secure any lid that is used

What she was in was a plastic container, the lids on those kind of containers snap shut. I've had bad luck with the 10 gallon tanks with the screen lids as well, the corner openings have been quite the escapee's exit. I've got her in the small glass tank now, with books as a lid lol, until I get a lid made.

Mike
Michael's Place

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Michael's Place has updated, better caresheets
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
Helmz777@aol.com
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

Lol oh a lid that snaps shut wow they must have pushed it up. I guess if you decide to use that again you could tie it with long shoe laces,twine,rope or duct tape granted this looks bad and to open it is a pain.

have you considered a thick chain with a padlock lol kidding.

LOL... she'll probably escape out of that too.

She tried to escape out of her new tank all last night. Crawling on the rim of the inside of the tank, pushing for openings. The lid at the time was basically 2 books lol, so I put a heavy tank on top of those books, and taped the books to the tank lol. She was still there this morning. I'm gonna move her to a critter keeper, that's the only tank where she really can't get out of.

Mike
Michael's Place

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Michael's Place has updated, better caresheets
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
Helmz777@aol.com
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

I've got some escape artists too. What I do, is use the tanks with the sliding lids and add a 1" clamp to hold it shut. This way there is no give in the lid and those little spaces stay shut tight. So, if you have one of those tanks laying around this could be cheap / quick fix for you too.

Glad you found yours!

-Alice

4 the love of Christ.... Michael....repeated escapes.... & you appear to stil be in denial...get a grip lad...get a grip...please...please...never.... do elapids....