Probably the worst luck ever, has this ever happened to you?

[IndigoMaverick91]

So, this is both very sad, and just a horrible chain of events for me this last week.

i recently bought a beautiful! Champagne male ball python from someone locally who was selling him to raise money to purchase a rack system for future breeding.
i adored this little snake, he was gorgeous and very sweet.
his curious behavior really won my heart.
I named him Blathazar.

well, I purchased him on a Friday.
Took many pictures, and what not.
Took all three of my ball pythons with me to show a friend who was eager to see my newest snake.
on the short drive home, once back inside.
I got to return all three from the travel Tupperware to their tanks and the Chamoagne was gone.

I panicked and frantically sifted through the bedding in the tote- no luck.
so then I rushed out to my car and tore under the seats, and tore the panel off the back of the passenger seat.
it got really cold that night and the next two following.
After loosing him everything went down hill.
A vengeful ex best friend called animal control on me under false claims, saying my dog was kept in a kennel full of feces, my data had mated fur with poop stuck, a snake got loose in my car.
animal control searched and seen that all animals were healthy , clean and very happy.

the following night a family friend is gunned down by police in front of his wife and neighbors because neighbors claime he was being threatening.(which he was not. He was shooting off fireworks)

every few hours since my snake disappeared I checked under the seats, the good, every nook and cranny.
At night if set up hide boxes with heated pads hoping to lure him out.

No luck.
So I started to hope that maybe he escaped my car and got free.
well, Sunday as I got ready to go to the park with a friend, we smelt something a little off.
didnt think much of it.

searched the car some more.
The following morning I go to leave for work and as soon as I open the door I was knocked back by the overwhelming smell of decay.

Ive already cried and cut my loses over my beloved snake.
But now I'm stuck driving around in my death cab and nothing I can do about it.
i know I'm not the first person this has happened to.
Same thing happened to a friend.

im still out one snake, and $200 down the drain, but this god awful smell........
why, just why!

Does anyone reading this have any suggestions to maybe help with the stench?
dont suggest tearing the car apart to find him, I can't afford that. Because they won't find him... But, I just want helpful advice on ways to make this smell more tolerable.

And word of advice, don't travel with your snakes unless they're being kept in a tote that has snapping latches. Not snap on lids

[AlexisFitzy]

Oh my goodness :'( I'm so sorry for all the horror you've endured! That's awful! I really really hope things start to look up for you very very soon. I'm sending you tons of love, hugs, strength, and comfort. For the smell I would approach it like your cleaning a bathroom. Lots. Of. Bleach. Bleach knocks out the foulest of smells because it has a very strong scent as well. I don't know what kind of upholstery you have but try to find some type of cleaner with bleach that wont discolor things. I'm pretty sure no amount of febreeze or air freshners will be able to take the stench of decay away. You need a type of strong disinfectant. Also the smell will only get worse the longer you leave the body in your car. So try your best to find it and remove it. Once again I'm so very sorry for all you've been through and the losses you have sustained.

Edit: Maybe someone will have a more Eco-friendly/Natural way of dealing with the smell but my go to to knock out something foul is always bleach.

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[MonkeyShuttle]

That sucks. All i can say is im a guy who has spent many of hours tearing my car apart to do DIY tinkering and can tell you theres not too many places he can be. Most of your dashboard/center console panels pop right off. I know you said don't tell you to tear the car apart but thats really kinda ridiculous considering you need to remove the cause of the smell not mask it. Can you tell us where you've looked in the car and we might be able to shoot some ideas of where else could be accessible to a snake

[IndigoMaverick91]

I'm pretty certain he went underneath the passenger seat, and slithered into the air vent openings that are under the seat.
Ive already torn the fabric free from under the seat to see if he had gone up into there to reach the eat coils that warm the seats.

so I believe he had gotten lodged up in the vents which we believe the two vents split under te center console.
The air ventilation system that splits to the dash, and under the seats and sort eater by a filter , so I wouldn't have been able to get into the engine.

My car is an infiniti I30, I've already tried to see what I can easily remove, and reattach without the need to take it to a shop and spend hundreds to have it done, and then have no luck finding him.
A friends either had this same thing happen, and try took apart the dash, and everything they could and never found the snake.
Worst thing was the smell lasted afew months and eventually disappeared.
I know dead things don't stink forever.
Mitsubishi just really gross having to smell it, knowing it'll only get worse and last for awhile.
If I had the money to throw at a mechanic or car guru to weasel on in and find him? I wouldn't hesitate, he'll I would've done that already and may have gotten him out alive

[IndigoMaverick91]

Thank you.

i have black leather interior, and dark grey floor carpeting in my car. I'm going to put kitty litter in socks to stick under the seats by the vents.

the kind with odor absorbing crystals and such.
Febrese and air freshened will make it a weird complex nasty mid of scents.
Move found that driving with the sun roof open, and the air on aimed towards ourselves helps with the smell, when its in the floor mode, it blows just stench.


So, at least I've found a way to make it bearable while driving,
and sick but true, I'm getting used to it.
But anyone else who opens the doors to my car without hearin my warnin is quickly blown away and gagging,

All I can hope is nobody vomits


i cried pretty hard the night he got loose. I panicked and checked my car every thirty minutes with fresh hot towels with hopes to lure him out, heat pads and hide boxes. I did everything.
I still got my normal and pastel, but this little champagne had such a sweet, heart melting personality and curious sweet charm that was just so wonderful.
My girl is sweet, and my male is shy but a cool guy.
but that baby champagne though.
I had a dream I woke up and ll my Nike were fine and happy.... Then I woke up and honestly had such a crappy day.
I was so bummed out,


i will own another champagne again.
ive decided to put off getting another one until the perfect snake catches my eye. And until I actually have the money to spring for one like that again.

Normally from what I see Chamoagne aren't cheap.
The fact I got him locally from another snake lover for $200 compared to online reputable breeders selling them for $500-800+,
im not even mad I spent $200, I'm mad and upset I lost my snake.

[BenzieBox]

I'm really sorry about your string of bad luck. I've had those days/weeks/months. They aren't easy.

As far as the smell goes I mean I would definitely try to find the body but I won't harp on that anymore.
Vinegar(white) is usually really good for eliminating odors and germs. You could also try getting a few boxes of dryer sheets and leaving them in the car to help absorb some of the smell. Also just keep the windows down if possible and let it really air out. There's also a cleaning product called Odo-Ban that is really good for getting rid of odors in different upholsteries. I don't know if any of this will work for you but it's worth a shot.

[Pythonfriend]

wow... thats a bunch of really bad things.... first question first.... that family friend, did he survive? will he make it? "gunned down by police" sounds bad.

about the smell in the car... other than finding the source and removing it, i think you cannot do much, and it will take ages until it goes away.

i have one weird idea that may help with the car smell problem.... maybe try these dermestid corpse-eating beetles. you could introduce them into the car. if they can deal with it, they will eat it up, leaving behind a skeleton, a bunch of dead beetles, and no smell. and if the conditions are not right, well, you just have to vacuum up a few dead beetles. but no, it probarbly wont work, because the beetles seem to be hard to get and they also need water and when there is too much rot going on they may have trouble getting the job done. in the right conditions they could clean a snake, or any other small dead animal, down to the bones in just a few days, scientists and taxidermists use them to obtain perfectly white skeletons and bones. but they are too expensive and i have no clue if they would survive in the car and if enough of them would reach the snake.

i guess you really need to find and remove the source of the smell.

[BrandiR]

We bought this thing called an ozonator a few years ago to get rid of a medicinal plant odor that was permeating our apartment. It worked incredibly well. We've loaned it to friends to get rid of cat odors, mold, and just generally funky smells, everyone has been blown away by how awesome it is.

It doesn't cover the smell like an air Freshener and it doesn't leave its own scent behind, the room (or in your case, car) just smells like nothingness.

I think it was a few hundred dollars, but there are less expensive ones and you could probably even find a used one on eBay or something.

You'll need a power source, it has to be plugged in. But I bet your smell would be completely gone if you let it run in there for awhile one time. If you try this route, read the information enclosed. It generates ozone and if I remember correctly you're not supposed to expose yourself or pets to it for extended periods of time while its running.

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[Divinity]

Put your dog in the car, usually they can pin point or give you an idea of the whereabouts of something that smells bad (my dogs like to do it all the time).

[Darkbird]

Sorry for the run of bad stuff. On the bright side, you already know about where it is in the car, as you said it just blows stench when the floor vents are on. Buy or borrow a repair manual and see how the vents in question are put together. You may even be able to find some of it online. There really isn't anything you can do for the smell until the decay process has run it's course unless you remove the source of the smell. Even bleach won't touch it.