I lost my Normal

So I've been really busy with work and havent scrub down the tubs for the last month. Yesterday we closed work early (Jewish Hollydays) and we have 2 days off starting today. So last nite I though I would clean their tubs, But at the same time I was really tired.

I cleaned their tubs, hides and even the water bowls with Chlorhexidine, everything was spot clean. I even made the holes in their tubs bigger and made some extra ones some tubs since Im still trying to figure out a good humidity and hole ratio in my RBI rack.

Anyways, Like I said I was tired, and even more tired after all that cleaning. I let the tubs a bit open to let some of the water from washing the tubs air out. I sat down in my computer for about an hour after that. When I was sleepy, I turned off my computer and went to bed. Yes I forgot to close the tubs back up....

I woke up, saw one of the tubs wide open. Check the hide, she wasn't there!! Check the others, but they were there in their hides and the tubs hadn't moved.

I have turned the apparent upside down and looked everywhere, but no luck. Dressers, bed, fridge, stove, dirty clothes. I have moved everything I could think off... Im not really looking for advise, but anything I haven't think of would be appreciated. I did find a small hole under the bathroom sink, I hope she did not go in there because it seems to connect to the whole building structure and I have to move out of this apartment before the 15th... This really sucks. :tears:

What sucks most of all is that she is my first BP...
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...5/100_1730.jpg

Good luck finding your ball man this sucks 4real and it was your first. Well i got my fingers crossed for you man.:(

what if you make a snake trap, put a mouse and some mouse bedding in it and try and make it so she can get in but cant get out as easy. a large container with a card board flap or something so if she gets in she cant get out so easy. Not saying it would stop her but at least gives you a chance.

The bigger the mouse smell the more likely she will be back IMO.

If it smelt like chicken or chocolat i personnally would come back :)

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Originally Posted by jimbo4382

what if you make a snake trap, put a mouse and some mouse bedding in it and try and make it so she can get in but cant get out as easy. a large container with a card board flap or something so if she gets in she cant get out so easy. Not saying it would stop her but at least gives you a chance.

The bigger the mouse smell the more likely she will be back IMO.

If it smelt like chicken or chocolat i personnally would come back :)

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I have a 32qt sterelite tub with 4 weaned rats in it that I have been moving around the house, but I dont think she will come out during the bright day. I hope I'll have better luck past midnight.

I agree with making a snake trap. Also, they usually look for water and warmth before food. If you have a rack system, maybes put her tub on the bottom and leave it open, just enough for her to squeeze back in. If she is a snake the eats pre- killed, try leaving one in there over night, or if she eats live, you can put one in a plastic deli cup with very small holes in it in her tub. I would try pre- killed first, just because there is a chance of the live mouse escaping by chewing out.

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Originally Posted by Danounet

I have a 32qt sterelite tub with 4 weaned rats in it that I have been moving around the house, but I dont think she will come out during the bright day. I hope I'll have better luck past midnight.

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Try not to move it around too much, you will confuse her with the scent. Try just putting it in a small enclosed area, and if you have extra tubs, place more of them around, you would have a greater chance of catching her. Also, you should put some water bowels in them, along with some form of heat, that way once she eats, she won't immediately leave in search.

:O Oh man I am so sorry to hear that. I hope you the best for finding your baby. I would go crazy. My first BP was a normal female as well..
I would not trade her for the world..
Good luck.

Try this "trap"

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ght=snake+trap

Another thing you can do is take a few cardboard boxes and put them along the walls. Get a few of the lamp hoods from the hardware store with some red heat bulbs. Hang the heat lamps a foot or so above the boxes and make some nice warm hides. Check them first thing every morning.

If you have a heating pad (human use type), plug it in, turn it on high and set it in the corner of the room where the snake was last seen. Turn off the lights, give it a few hours and check it. The snake should come to the heat. Will probably come to the heat before it will come to food.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

same thing happened to me when i was like 16. Bp got out of its tank and was lost in my room. All i did was put a mouse in its tank with the screen open turned the lights off and went off to hockey only to have a voice mail from my mom that they had checked if he came out and sure enough he did to feed and they took the mouse out and put him back. Good luck on your find . This year one of my normals got out and she went right over to the desktop computer and was fast a sleep on top of it haha

Also you can lay some news paper or something down...sprinkle flour on it to see if the snake is active in that area....if you have a tile floor in the kitchen or etc....cover the ENTIRE FLOOR! ha ha ha

My Friend in Florida lost his ball for 2 weeks..they check all tiniest hole and rift everywhere... nothing after 2 weeks one night we was waken up by some noise pile of wallmart bags..(he was shopping an d just pile them a lot that evening in the corner of the room)... guess what?? Yes That was his ball-python....

So don't loose the hope!!!

Thanks everyone for your replies, I'm trying a bunch of different things, but still Im gonna have to wait till darkness falls. She is the definition of a typical BP, hide during light and come out in almost complete darkness.

I just hope I will find her before I have to return the appartment. :please:

I am sorry to hear about your loss....

If there is anything that I have noticed about finding lost snakes, is that when you stop looking for them they tend to appear.

I would try heat and water. They may not want to feed as they are streesed when lost. Most will seek out a water source. Good Luck I hope you find her before you have to move.

oh man i am so sorry! i hope u find her. she will miss daddy soon and come slithering back. lol good luck, let us know

sorry you lost your buddy, I agree with setting heat traps, i would guess that would be the best way to do it, rather than food traps. Either way, good luck finding your BP :(

Sincere sympathies. I know she's a special girl. Everyone has posted excellent suggestions. I would just add don't forget to look up--like on the shelves in your closet, or some out of the way higher place. Sometimes they will crawl up and hide in the dark. This guy I know, who has lost a few snakes, usually finds them tucked away in his closet.

Hoping she'll slither up soon!

I really hope you find your baby soon! Hang in there, you will find her.

Well no luck last nite. What is worrying me is that there has been a cold front the last 2 nites. My time in this appartment is running out. Why did this have to happen now...

My best luck has been looking in Drawers...they will surprise you sometimes.

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Originally Posted by Danounet

Well no luck last nite. What is worrying me is that there has been a cold front the last 2 nites. My time in this appartment is running out. Why did this have to happen now...

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If you can't find the snake, then look for escape routes. Where could the snake have gone? Look for cracks or spaces in the walls, holes drilled into the walls or floors for electric or pipes.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

also check behind your appliances.....motors on fridges are a good heat source and she could have wiggled into one

Almost like they're cats in a way, so search every possible hiding place. And PYMOM is right; if she's a little chilly, she'd look for that heat source and probably end up hanging out around an appliance. Good luck on finding your little girl; she's gotta be around there some place :(

Keep setting those traps man. God willing you'll find her I hope.

Dang no luck yet?? :(

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Originally Posted by ajsnoopy

Almost like they're cats in a way, so search every possible hiding place. And PYMOM is right; if she's a little chilly, she'd look for that heat source and probably end up hanging out around an appliance. Good luck on finding your little girl; she's gotta be around there some place :(

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Go and borrow a friends cat. The cat will find the snake in a hurry. They always do. You need to do what you're doing also. Keep looking at night with a flashlight. Put snake food in a lot of places also and keep checking them.

I pulled the fridge out. Open the front cover of the dish washer and nothing. I pulled the stove out and there is a huge hole where the high voltage outlet comes out, I dont see her. I left the stove pulled out anyways. So there is 2 big holes where she could be now.

I was looking all night with a small flash light everywhere. I dont have any friends with cats... lol.

I actually pre-killed a rat for the first time because of all this, to have rat scent in different places. not a pleasant feeling... :taz:

Here's what you do...bring over the friend that is the most afraid of snakes. S/he will find your girl for sure :)

All joking aside, I really hope you find her before you move out.:hug:

I've had to escapee's, one was behind my washer which is downstairs from where the snakes are and the other was under the sofa.

Good luck!

Good luck finding her. That's definitely one of my worst nightmares.

Well I'm definitely never cleaning or messing with my snakes when I'm tired ever again.

Another thing is we are moving out. My ex is taking her things out slowly, she took some things today, hopefully she wasn't there. Or hopefully she will creep up to my ex-mother in law while she is sleeping! :twisted:

Thanks everyone for trying to help.

Sorry to hear about this :(

I made the same mistake recently by forgetting to re-secure the lid to my 55 gallon tank. Luckily for me, my BP decided getting out was good enough and curled up less than a foot from her enclosure :rolleyes:

Dogs are just as good as cats, and the more the dog wants to get into everything the better. It is not a job for the best dog in the world.

have you checked inside any of your shoes/boots? .. heck man I am trying to think of anywhere.. between the mattress? under the cushions? .. This would drive me freakin crazy.. you play guitar? in the guitar or amp? .. :(

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Originally Posted by WaRocker

have you checked inside any of your shoes/boots? .. heck man I am trying to think of anywhere.. between the mattress? under the cushions? .. This would drive me freakin crazy.. you play guitar? in the guitar or amp? .. :(

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I did look everywhere, I opened my mattress somewhat, It's up against the wall now. I play drums so I looked inside the bass drum (I was really hoping she was in there).

The more I look, the more I think she inside one of the walls :(

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear this!!! I feel like your BP and mine "grew up together" via this forum. Darn it, wish I could help. Please do keep us posted.

Dang man so sorry.. Well if ya don't find her I hope some how she moved with ya..

Mine disappeared for 6 days and I found her yesterday morning. She had been in the basement. How I found her was putting a space heater near a centrally located wall and then putting sheets and blankets in a half circle around the space heater. I found her under one of the blankets.

Another thing you can try is long pieces of scotch tape along walls. It will stick to the snake then leave a trail to your baby's hiding spot. Remove tape with vegetable oil. A box of soil can entice them... Heating pads with hides against the walls. Scenting the floorboards with a mouse then leaving the mouse in a hide overnight. Crinkly bags all over the place and empty pop bottles on edges of things is a way to hear your snake moving around at night.

I used all of the above.

i know how u feel, i lost mine for 8 months!! yes, 8 months!....and one day i was laying in bedd[[all hope lost]] and my mom screams [[snakkeeeee]] and there she was, looking sick, with an RI, i thought she wasnt gonna make it, now its been 2 months later, and she's gainig back her weight and is back to normal, so i really hope you find her, everyone pretty much suggested what i would do good luck

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Originally Posted by maria1232

i know how u feel, i lost mine for 8 months!! yes, 8 months!....and one day i was laying in bedd[[all hope lost]] and my mom screams [[snakkeeeee]] and there she was, looking sick, with an RI, i thought she wasnt gonna make it, now its been 2 months later, and she's gainig back her weight and is back to normal, so i really hope you find her, everyone pretty much suggested what i would do good luck

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WOW that's a record.. My second friend in Florida (actually a coworker) lost her ball for a 6 months. I was think nothing can beat that.... BTW beside being dehydrated her snake was just fine...

It doesnt worry me so much that she is lost, what worries me is that I wont be able to find her before I have to finish moving out...

I went to work all day today, just got home, I Just finished looking briefly over the house, no sign still. I hope she is not in the walls, at least that way she will move with me and my things. Tomorrow after work Im gonna start putting my things on boxes, so I'll know then if she is in my things or in the walls.

good luck, hope she pokes her head out of somewhere

Update, please? I hope you found her by now. If not, I am still wishing you good luck.

I would love to hear the end of this story too. I wish you all the luck. I have not lost a snake.....yet. But did lost a bearded dragon once, but was lucky enough to find him within an hour.

Oh no! I certainly hope you find it - my fingers too are crossed that you find it.

Hope you end up having a happy passover. =]

My first post since I am a brand new BP owner (2 days and counting! Wooot!).

Anyway, just wanted to say sorry for your loss and hope you find your friend.

Keep us posted. Hopefully she finds a nice warm box somewhere and you find her before or after the move as a nice surprise.

I have yet to handle my snake as its still getting adjusted to its new home.

Good luck mate.

Thanks everyone, But Im almost done moving and still no sign of her...

At least this whole ordeal taught me a lesson. Now I'll make sure no snakes scape ever agian.

I'm so sorry you haven't found her yet... could you leave a note for the landlord, to pass along to the future tenants? Might freak them out a little, but it would freak them out more to unexpectedly find a "stray" python. :oops: At the very least you could mention it before moving, and make sure they have your new contact info - so if they ever come across her, they'll be able to get a hold of you.