HELP!!! My baby is lost in the House!!!

[deedee]

I discovered that my daughter didn't latch the top of the cage properly and my baby has escaped!! It was feeding day and figure he's looking for his dinner. I am seriously distressed and very worried. We have looked all over but don't even know if it's ever going to be found. I'm afraid he will get too cold out in the house. Any tricks for finding him??? He's never been lost before and he's still pretty young.

Any advice please...i'm frantic...

DeeDee

[iceman25]

I discovered that my daughter didn't latch the top of the cage properly and my baby has escaped!! It was feeding day and figure he's looking for his dinner. I am seriously distressed and very worried. We have looked all over but don't even know if it's ever going to be found. I'm afraid he will get too cold out in the house. Any tricks for finding him??? He's never been lost before and he's still pretty young.

Any advice please...i'm frantic...

DeeDee

1) Search at night.
2) Look along the floor beside the walls.
3) Look inside every nook and cranny you can see and then more.
4) sprinkle flour along the doorways so you know if cuts through.
5) put paper or something that crumples and makes a lot of noise along the walls
6) Leave a dead food item inside a two litre coke bottle(depends on the size of the snake). Leave this along the wall not far away from his enclosure.
7)Be patient.

I once lost a BP of mine only to find her four months later. Good luck!

Raj.

P.S where are you located at? If the temps outside are warm, then you do not have to worry over it too much.

[daniel1983]

also,look around anything warm too....i.e. computers and other appliances
ball pythons generally do not stray too far from their enclosure...usually within 5 ft so check close to the enclosure good

good luck

[deedee]

Thank you so much for the advice. I left the the clamp lamp on over the side of the enclosure with a fuzzie under. He didn't come around last night though. I will try all the other suggestions as well.


One problem, I have all dark hard wood floors so it's really hard to see. Will they go down stairs? if not, I only have half the house to search.

Thanks again!
DeeDee

[iceman25]

One more IMPORTANT thing. Make sure you leave bowls of water in every room of the house so that he can drink and wont get dehydrated.

Raj

[deedee]

Thank's for mentioning that!! BTW, when my kids lost the hamster in the house, we opened the enclosure and made a ramp up. The hamster would smell the food inside and always turn up back in the enclosure safe and sound the very next morning. Do you think that would work with snakes?? Also, when searching at night, is it necessary to keep the lights dim using a flashlight? I don't want any bright lights to keep him from coming out.


Thanks again!!
DeeDee

[Smynx]

Will they go down stairs? if not, I only have half the house to search.

Unfortunately, they will absolutely negotiate stairs. I had one escape to my bedroom closet which means it crossed the length of the house, went up a full flight of stairs, and crossed the length of the house again before curling up in a shoe, inside a shoe box in my closet. He was missing for about two weeks before I found him.

While most people do find their missing snakes close to their enclosures, no place is off limits.

I hope you find it soon.

[iceman25]

Hamsters need to eat regularly so that ploy would work on mammals(I fall for it all the time). BP's unfortunately can go for months without eating which makes things more difficult. That said, it should not stop you from trying. Also, after you've checked nooks and crannies and made sure(like a million percent sure) that he is not in there, find a way to seal it up so it would be one less place you will have to search again. Good luck.

Raj

[Ginevive]

Everyone has such good ideas.
One of my BPs escaped and ended up sliding into one of the heating vents and she ended up freezing in the basement.
But on a brighter note, I had another escapee BP who woke me and my boyfriend up in the middle of the night, slithering on a shelf and knocking down a glass candle holder!
I like what Iceman said; check a nook or cranny, and if he isn't there, block it up so he cant get in.

[deedee]

Wow...I have a 4500 square foot house that's old with many little hiding places! It's the favorite house for all the neighborhood kids to play hide and seek!! I've offered my kids cash if they find him, also their friends. I have a house full of teenagers here everyday anyway!!

As far as freezing, he'd be pretty well off outside since we live in Houston, but I'll keep the inside temp warmer than normal.

I'm glad to know he can live a while in hiding!!

He's still a baby, but I have worries about whether my chihuahuas will hurt him or he will hurt them? My female Chihuahua only weighs about 4 lbs.

DeeDee