Need help/advice- escaped ball in mixed pet home...

[DreamEyce]

I woke up this morning to what looks like the cats having knocked the screentop (It's fallen down... so I'm assuming one of the damned cats was sleeping on it *sigh*) of my slide and lock tank off the ledge, and my Ball Rad loose.... I have 3 cats, and 2 dogs who DO NOT like him, but the other issue is I have 2 cockatiels, 30 PET rats, and a ferret...

As of now all pets are fine- atleast i assume Rad would be as he would not have been out long (I went to sleep after midnight and woke up at 6am), and I'm already working out getting the rodents out of the house, and the birds are hung up so he can't get to them anyways.

I know Balls can hide VERY well.... Rad is my first Ball, and this is his first escape as I'm PARANOID about him, and him getting out for obvious reasons.

Does anyone have any snake finding advice? My husband is not home for a few hours and I'm 6 months pregnant so am not *suppose* to move large objects, but my family is out of town and I'm not sure of any friends to call for help. I assume he's looking for a warm place to hide for the day (such as under the fridge?)... he IS very nocturnal... sleeps all day and is active all night which leads me to believe he'll be where he is now all day.

Another question is will he be a threat to the ferret/try to go near the ferret? I KNOW the ferret will attack him if he goes near him, but will Rad be dumb enough to try and mess with a ferret???? (I only have a limited space to move all the critters to) If needed I can place the ferret cage on top of the lizards cage (which he could not get onto) as I do not want ANYONE hurt.

I knew this would eventually happen/something like this someday, and am VERY glad everyone is so far safe. My rats cages are specifically snake proof (It was an importanyt thing before bringing Rad home), and I got the sliding top tank as I was told it was the most secure cage there is.

Another concern I have is we're remodeling the kiction and have a hole large enough for him to crawl through to get out of the house under the sink we have not patched up yet... it would be cold under there... what are the chances of him having gotten outside??

If anyone else has experience with 'conflicting pet' homes and can give me advice that would also be wonderful. Right now I'm going nuts...

Emily~

[UberAlice]

I'd set up a Rubbermaid with a hole cut in it, a heatlamp over it and a hide inside it (like a cereal box in a pinch). He's gonna be looking for somewhere warm to go, you're right, so that's the best way to start trying to lure him out. You can also try putting a p/k prey item in it, maybe the smell will attract him.

[zennygirl]

yikes. cover that whole up fast! and good luck. don't noT look anywhere, they can curl up smaller than you think. mine has fit into places where i'm like "no, there's no way he could fit there" and sure enough, he was there.

[led4urhead]

Emily, i'm sorry to hear your little guy escaped. I would definitely check dark places where could get into. Start with everything in a 10 radius of the cage. Thats where i've found mine on my two escapes now. They usually try not to go too far, but definitely want to get out of plain sight and hidden. Good luck with finding him. As far as the other animals in the house go .... i would definitely keep an eye on them. They could lead you to him if they spot something out of the ordinary.

[tman]

Emily; This may be messy but it worked for a friend of mine, try sprinkling flour over the floor and see if you can find any tracks....Good Luck and let us know what happens.

[Itmaymb]

The only time I had an escapee she went directly to a messy closet and curled up in the back most corner. She was under the last thing I pulled out. I didn't find her until the second time I searched that closet by the way so don't think you can't over look them. Good Luck.

[Nate]

my Jeeper has escaped twice...both times he wasn't far from the tank at all. never even left the room...just hope and pray he hasn't ventured into the air ducts.

[EyeLashViper]

Okay....I am a veteran of looking for lost snakes. I will tell you one thing I have learned - those darn snakes will show up when THEY want to !!!!!!! you can tear your house apart piece by piece and I can almost assure you that you will NOT find your snake. You will probably have to just wait it out and someday ( some month...??? ) you will look down and there he will be. I have been all thru this and it always works this way. One of my Ball Pythons, Cypher escaped twice and he was gone for three weeks until 6am one morning I heard a crash, bang in my bedroom near the snake tanks and there he was..he had knocked over a decorative candle and I swear he had a sheepish look on his face... I was so happy to see him. Good luck with finding your snake !!!!!!!!
EyeLashViper

[vinnimac]

Haven't had my BP escape yet (knock wood), but I did have a 3' fox snake I was keeping get loose, and like everyone else is saying he showed up when he wanted to. 4 days after he got out, dropped out of the wall where my pocket doors are at the living room. Freaked my daughter out!! She was screaming and standing on the back of the couch when I came in to scoop him up. I couldn't help laughing at that. He couldn't hurt her if he wanted, and she was 19 years old!! Oh yeah, she's moved out now.

[Itmaymb]

Oh yeah, she's moved out now.

Nothin like a little nudge huh? lol



DreamEYCE keep us updated when you find him. Curious minds inquire.