Year old Ball Python escaped into wall... Help please

[TheAce734]

Last night while cleaning my black pastel ball python's cage, she escaped her temporary enclosure. This wouldn't have been so bad except her enclosure was placed on top of our washer and dryer. She managed to get behind the dryer and find a gap between the tiled floor and wall. Before I could move the machines and get back there she was already halfway under the wall. I tried to hold onto her as I began to frantically rip out the dry wall but she pulled away and disappeared. My heart sank as I continued to take bigger and bigger chunks out of my apartments wall to find her going so far as to accidentally pull out the next door apartments dry wall. There was no sign of her v_v

Next I cleaned up all the broken bits of drywall, laid out a towel next to the now rather large hole in the wall, placed a heating pad under the towel, put a hide over the heating pad, and filled a dish of water. I also soaked a paper towel with chicken stock and placed it near the hide to entice her to come out (there were no mice on hand to use as bait but I'm getting one this morning) and spread flour and papers on the ground around the hole to see if she passed through. Is there anything else I can do?

Picture of set up for snake



What's worse is that my lease is up in the next 7 days so I can't wait for weeks to see if she comes out... This snake means the world to me so any advice on how to get her back into my life would be greatly appreciated.

[BPGator]

I'm surprised she could get far in the wall. The wall should basically be wood studs sandwiched between drywall. I wouldn't expect her to be able to move vertically since there's not much to hang on. Did you see what path she may have taken?

Having a nice warm hide set up may be your only option. You may want to leave out a f/t rat to try and entice her.

If you're moving out, you'll want to tell the landlord in case she's found she can be returned to you.


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[TheAce734]

Yeah that was my hope. It looks like the studs don't go all the way from wall to wall on this face at least so she could move along the length for some time. Not sure if its the same for around the corner though. As I was holding on to her it seemed like she was moving left or possibly even through the opposite wall into the next apartment which is empty it seems. This again would be another tight squeeze. Might knock on the door again to see if people are back.

The heating pad and hide all set up and I got some f/t mice and one live one since she usually takes to those first. I also set up a heating fan to blow warm mouse scent into the wall just in case she did get a ways away. Also thinking of putting a small humidifier outside to keep the humidity up in that region to stimulate her appetite. What do you think?

[Dezoruba]

Leave a note on the neighbors door just in case. I'd hate for them to come home and find her in their apartment and possibly hurt her, not knowing that she's a harmless pet.

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[TheAce734]

Leave a note on the neighbors door just in case. I'd hate for them to come home and find her in their apartment and possibly hurt her, not knowing that she's a harmless pet.

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Actually got to speak with the new tenants moving in today. I explained the situation and they were very understanding and even comforting. So maybe even if she doesn't come out of her new "home" in a few days there might be some people looking out for her in the upcoming weeks.

The thing I'm most worried about is my snake getting dehydrated since we live in such an arid climate. Hopefully the water bowl will be one of the more enticing factors of ball python heaven that my laundry has become lol.

[Fraido]

That really sucks, good luck with everything, I hope it all works out eventually and she is found.

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[voodoolamb]

Oh no. I'm so sorry. I've had an escapee get into a tight space. It's not fun and especially not considering your deadline

Maybe try asking the pet store for some dirty gerbil bedding to bait your hide. I've heard people refer to them as snake crack and when i worked at a petstore and had a non eating hatchling a good 8 times out of 10 scenting with dirty gerbil bedding got them to eat. Not sure why snakes like gerbils so much but maybe the smell of an extra yummy treat will entice her out.

Oh maybe try getting a red bulb work light to check out the area late at night. I tried using a regular flashlight and my escapee girl would tuck back into her hiding spot whenever I shined it near her.

Good luck

[TheAce734]

The gerbil idea sounds great! Definitely going to pick up some of that bedding tonight. Also realized the fan might not have been the best idea because of the low level noise it was making. Instead, I'm going to pre kill the mouse I have tonight (humanly of course) and rub the brain matter along the floor path leading to the hide.

Last night I tried to get video of inside the wall using a smartphone. The walls look complicated and passible on the inside :/ I was worried the light might have made my girl even more skittish so I stopped after a few tries. I have a head lamp that emits a red light so I'll be using that to check up on her in the up coming days.

We are actually moving out tomorrow but our lease doesn't end till the 17th. This means that there will be a few days of peace and quiet for my girl where she might be more likely to come out during the night. I'm crossing every finger I got at this point.

Thanks everyone for the support by the way! You've guys have made the last couple of days at least manageable

[Hannahshissyfix]

Sounds like you're doing what you can. Is it possible to put another hole further down the wall to be able to check? I know it's not ideal with a rental but patching drywall is pretty easy. I hope she comes out soon!

[TheAce734]

It's been in the back of my mind. Think that will be my absolute last resort though. I'm going to have to cut out more wall anyway to repair the damage done anyway. If the day comes where she hasn't shown up and I need to patch the wall I'll take out a much larger area with a clean cut and patch it all at once.