Lost snake odds

[crescend]

I have a question for those of you that have had snakes escape.... What is your best estimate of the % chance that the snake will be found?!?!

This past Thursday night my 13yr old son had his prized female pastel (Blues) escape from her enclosure. This is a snake that he has been raising and is/was hoping to breed this upcoming fall. We have been tearing apart the house and have set up various "hot spots" in several rooms. One thing that is against us right now is that she actually ate the night before the escape, so she's not actively seeking food right now.

While I want my son to continue to have hope of finding her, I also want him to understand what the odds are that we are dealing with.

As much info as people would like to provide would be greatly appreciated as we are truly singing the "blues" .

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

Is there any holes or ways your snake could escape your house? If not, I'd think you're in good shape.

I have had two snakes escape, and I have found both. One was lost for a few weeks, but we found her in the snake room. The other was lost and I didn't even know it for a day or so, then I went in there to get a book off my book shelf that's in there and imagine my surprise when I reached for my book and was nose to nose, literally, with my big girl who was curled up on my book shelf! LOL

So, both mine are happy endings

[RoyalGuardian]

First thing is make sure you have water readily available in EVERY room! You don't want her to get dehydrated. I lost my 2 year old for 2 weeks once when he got out. I looked everywhere... Then one day I was sitting on my bed looking at pictures of him on my camera and crying. I was distraught cause I thought I had lost my best friend and only pet ( this was before Cali). Then all of a sudden I heard something that sounded like a faint sniff or sneeze coming from the other side of my room. I went to investigate of course and what did I find? I looked for 5 min but couldn't find where Ki was hiding then all of a sudden he sneezed really loud and I spotted him! He was INSIDE the zipper binder I had put over the vent to keep him from sitting on it and possibly overheating! He was a bit cold so I snuggled him for a short bit then put him in his cage with a nice fat mouse which he nommed immediately! Since he got out I came up with an idea but its a bit expensive if you don't have the stuff on hand. Get your bowls of water and put them on a cookie sheets covered in reptile sand. Put one in every room and close the door and make sure it can't escape under the door. The snake will go get a drink and leave snake tracks in the sand showing you which room they are in! Worked for my friend when her hatchling got out a week ago. Hope it helps you! I really hope you find her!

PS- Never give up looking. Escapees can be on the slither for quite a while but be persistent and you will find her! Keep your chin up!

[JLC]

My own experience with the same snake escaping twice in my home and being found the same day each time....plus reading literally hundreds of "escape stories" over the years here at BP.net.....I would say that when an animal escapes within your home, the chances of finding it again are very high. Sometimes it takes a few days, or even a few weeks, but far more often than not, we hear happy endings to such stories.

I had a friend who lost a rosy boa...it was gone for months and they thought it truly gone for good. He and his girlfriend decided to buy a new house...packed up everything and moved...and when they were unpacking in the new house, out pops the boa from one of their boxes! You just never know where they'll show up or when.

My recommendations for lost snakes:

Check the smallest cracks, spaces, holes...if you overlook a space thinking there's no way your snake could fit in/through there...go back and look again. They will astonish you with their abilities to crawl under/through/into tiny spaces.

Watch for items overturned or disturbed on shelves or along the walls.

Make the house as silent as possible and sit quietly, listening for rustling. Putting out plastic grocery bags along any likely routes can help. Do this in the late evenings, especially, as that is when they are most likely to be active. But at all times, be alert for any little sounds that are out of place.

If the snake just ate, it is very likely that it didn't go far from its home...and it has found a secure little hidey-place to wedge itself into and sleep off its meal....so you may not see or detect signs of movement for awhile. I'd continue searching especially in a 10' radius around the snake's enclosure.

Good luck!

[crescend]

Well, it has been 5 days with no sign of blues. We have set up water bowls, and have placed a glass tank on it's side with heat lamp, hide and water bowl in 2 rooms. We are hoping that she will be getting hungry again soon and will begin to move around so that maybe we can find where she went. We continue to search, but my son is getting pretty down about the whole thing. We had a bit of a diversion last night as one of his other balls layed her eggs, so we were busy getting the 6 beautiful eggs away from their very upset mom, and transferred to the incubator. Now that the incubator is all set and regulated, we can once again turn back to the search for Blues...

[mechnut450]

another trick ( cheaper than the rep sand ) is to place littlelines of flour down t osee if the snake moved though the flour and it gives an ideal on which way it heading. Don't give up I had my het pied get loose and was mia for about 3 weeks. the entrire room was searched. I end up going piece by piece and looing though every thing. well I get done no snakes. I sit inhe (folding chair) and look at the rodent food container an here this head poppign ou of he food. the little sob was inside a tank half full of food. he stuck his head out when I had moved the container to look under it and to tilt he stand over to look under/behind it. The he hads the nerve to bite me for interrupting his long nap.


best places to look for a snake in a kids bedroom, in drawers, under he bed ( look in the springs too), behind dresser/computer area ( love that heat),and the closet.

[k2l3d4]

Ok my little baby BP Rios excaped... and seven hours later (panicked hours mind you) He was found inside the printer!!!!!!.... Needless to say my printer had to be disassembled to get him out.

[stratus_020202]

I had one escape twice. Both times she was found. So, 100% for me. I hope you have just as much luck finding yours. Lol. I cried when I lost mine.

[SugarFox03]

I had one escape on me (while I had my poorly built home-made racks years ago) and was gone for 4 months! I didn't set out hot spots, but I have dogs & cats and so there's always water bowls down. This was in the critter room, which is 100% escape proof. Found her one afternoon after hearing the dogs barking madly at something. I walk in and she's right there in the middle of the room, VERY upset the dogs gave her away. She's also the same snake that I had picked up directly from an importer (hand picked her out of hundreds) and she didn't eat for almost 13 months.

So if the snake had some good size on her prior to the escape and your house don't have a way of her getting out, you'll find her. I have noticed (reading other posts) that they are usually found pretty close to their tank/cage.

Good luck finding Blues!

[sg1trogdor]

Im sure it will turn up. My girlfriends snake got out and turned up a few months later. One of my little escape artists had a nice week in the sun, literally. She got out and I didnt notice for several days and I found her one night when I was awaken by a breaking glass bottle outside in the back yard. When I went out to investigate there she was just staring at me. lol. She has never gotten over her temporary freedom always scheming.