On this past Friday, September 25th, I took my recently acquired, adolescent Mexican Black Kingsnake (Maybe six months to a year old, 12-18 inches long, and half an inch in girth) out of his tank just to handle for a few minutes (I try for ten minutes daily/every other day at least, in order to get him used to handling). I had to go into work at one o'clock, so I put him back into his tank, and in a TOTALLY irresponsible, lapse of thought, I forgot to put the clamp top back on. I left around 12:30PM and returned home around 5:20PM, and I immediately noticed the misplaced lid and began a frantic search.
I live in a newer, reasonably sized apartment, and I tore apart my room, closet, bathroom, dressers, shelves, hampers and everything looking for him. I've done the same thing, and had others do the same thing probably 4 times since. I also have thoroughly searched the kitchen, the living room, and the bedroom/bathroom/closet closest to mine. My roommates have done a pretty thorough search of their rooms as well.
I've spent HOURS searching the web for things to try to help find him. I lowered the temperature of the apartment, put out his tank/heating pad, put out his feeding tank and an extra heating pad and a hide with a pinkie in it and a water dish under my bed, put a thawed pinkie in a kleenex box in a hidden corner with a water dish, set up four bottle traps with pinkies inside in my room/closet, set at least ten pinkie-less bottle traps up around the house, warmed up a dozen potatoes and wrapped them in tinfoil and put them around my room and closet and bathroom as well as around the common areas of the house, put plastic bags everywhere in my room, and laid down newspaper at my doorways and made flour lines.
Despite all of this I've not seen any sign of him and I am so incredibly upset. I love that little snake to death and would be destroyed if I couldn't find him.
I had to throw out the pinkie traps today, but tonight I plan to use a pencil to scope out the infinitesimally small space between the carpet and the baseboard, and to lay out damp towels along the lengths of the walls. I'll replace the pinkie traps within the next day or two, and since his next meal was supposed to be on the 29th, and because he's a voracious eater, I'm hoping it may lure him out.
All exits to the outside are tightly sealed, and I have no floor vents. My only worry for escape would be the drain down the shower, and a little hold under the sink that the pipes go out that you can't get to without opening the hole-less cabinet under the sink.
Besides all of that though, I'm at a loss as far as what to do. I would be crushed to lose this little guy, and I'll be moving out of this apartment in July, so the miracle stories of snake turning up months or even years later make me worried more than anything.
If anyone has any additional super obscure tricks I can try out, or even any words of encouragement, I'd really, really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance!