Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've only had my male corn hatchling for two days. This morning I wake up and he's nowhere to be found. I was sure the metal tank screen was secure, but he managed to climb up the smooth glass and slip out. I thoroughly searched his vivarium several times and am turning the room inside out looking for him, but no luck. I've put out a pan of water near the tank stand in case he comes out, but I'm starting to think he's not going to turn up. He's so small that I doubt I'll ever be able to find him, but I'm still trying.
I'm also concerned because I have a cat who will undoubtedly kill him if he finds him before I do. I desperately need some help right now.

This is my first snake, so I feel like a complete jackass and unworthy to ever have another snake again for letting this happen.

hey, im in the same situation, and ive kept multiple snake for over ten years,dont get down on yourself and learn from your mistakes.

dont give up either! about 8 years ago i lost a baby amel corn, we didnt find him till about a month later 2 stories down in the basement! and we have cats and dogs! hope you the best and keep with the reptile hobby, its very fun and rewarding. remember, we were all new to this at some time.

My experience has been that cats usually won't kill a snake when they find one. I had a baby garter escape and the way I found him was when one of my cats meowed at me wanting me to follow her, which I did, and she led me to a group of my housecats sitting in a circle watching something in the center of the circle. Once in a while a cat would reach out a paw to bat at the thing in the center of the circle, but was a bit afraid to actually touch it.

The thing in their circle was my missing baby garter snake. I picked him up, he was absoolutely fine except very thirsty. Incidentally, he'd been gone almost two weeks before he was found.

In the past, I've had outdoor cats catch snakes and carry them around, but never did they kill them. I would rescue the snake they were playing with, put it in a terrarium, treat it's wounds (usually a few punctures from cat bites), with Panalog or triple antibiotic ointment, and the snakes would be fine and ready to be released again after an average of 3 days.