Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi All,

I hope to get some much needed advice.

I am sad to report that my 6 month old Uro escaped yesterday. Her tank was not left opened (I live alone, so I know this for sure). There are no cracks or crevices in the tank cover. The cover is made of half inch square metal screen. The only possible way she achieved this feat was by climbing the wall and squeezing through the screen (I used these 3 D rock for the back of the tank: http://www.aquaterra-intl.com/products.html, and she has awkwardly attempted to climb in the past, but has never gotten very far).

So, here are the facts:

1. She has definitely escaped. I completed gutted her tank to verify this. She's not there.

2. She is about 5 inches long.

3. Her tank is located in my loft. It rarely gets below 80 degrees in this location (even when it's 15 degrees outside). Other floors in the house are about 65 degrees during the winter. So, I am hoping that she is smart enough to stay in the loft and not wander around other parts of house.

4. I have 2 cats. One is declawed, the other is not. The one that has her claws never ventures into the loft. The one without claws does spend a good amount of time in the loft. There is no way either of the cats could have climbed up to the tank, opened it and taken her. It's simply physically impossible.

5. I spent 4 hours today ripping the loft apart. I looked everywhere and under everything and inside everything (including inside my computer and inside the sofa).

Is there any advice as to how I can lure her out of wherever she is hiding? I'm desperate.

When ours got out, I found one inside my hubby's shoe ... look in every crevis and corner, even in places you wouldn't think to look. Good Luck and keep us informed.

For how long was yours missing?

Did you try anything to lure it out, or did you just keep searching?

Ours were only missing for about an hour. No we didn't lure it out with anything, we actually used our cats to help find all three of the babies when they got out. The cats took us to them LOL ... we found one in the back corner behind the cat tree, one under the entertainment center and one in my hubby's shoe.

Anyone else have any useful info on how I can lure her?

I just built a contraption that now sits on the floor of my loft consisting of a bracket where I hung the heat lamp on. The lamp is 10 inches above a flat 2 foot x 2 foot piece of plywood to which I fastened the same flat carpet that currently lines her tank. In addition, I placed her hides on this platform, and placed her food dish (with food) as well as a small dish of water. Can I logically assume that if she is still in the loft area, that, wherever she is hiding, at some point, she'll wander from her hiding spot looking for a warmer spot and some food, and thus see this brightly lit and warm area with her recognizable food dish and hides and be naturally attracted to it? Is this asking too much of her? Aside from this, what else can I do?

Well, my only escape experience was solved that way, but I knew exactly where the little sneak had wedged himself. It's possible it'll work, and I'd keep it up, but don't stop scouring every place you can think of to find him. And don't give up on finding him. You hear stories of people who find their lost uro way after the fact - cold, thin, and potentially unwell, but alive.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Thanks, Torey. I'm keeping the faith, and am going to conduct another full scale search in the morning. In the meantime, I've cranked up the heat even more in the loft, and as soon as I noticed her missing, I gated the loft off so the cats can't hang out there. If she is in the loft, I'm pretty confident I'll find her soon.

Whew--this is great news--I found her!!!

Where? There was a single, difficult to reach spot in her tank inside a fake rock wall that was siliconed to the tank. I mean--this was a spot I couldn't fathom she could possibly squeeze into. So--she was in her tank the entire time!

I've learned a valuable lesson: These things can squeeze into (and apparently enjoy) the tightest spots!

Glad to hear it!
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

YEAH !!!!! I'm soooooo glad you found her !!! Yes they can squeeze into the smallest spaces, its amazing the way they contort their bodies to get where they want to be.