Lost baby python! I'm freaking out! Help!

Hey, it's only been a day. Don't be so hasty to think the worse, even if that is probably where your mind keeps jumping.

We had a snake escape in the store for over a year, and they found him (quite fat!) and happy down in the food bags in the basement, near the dehumidifiers. Snakes can get everywhere. You just need to take a step back, breathe, and slowly start your search. It's been over 24 hours, I believe? He could have moved locations by now, and he may not even be up in your attic.

I hope you find your snake!

Most of the time, BPs don't seem to move that far from the cage. Remember a baby ball can coil up into a tiny ball the size of a lime(smaller maybe!) so they will fit into cracks and crevices you wouldn't think of.

I doubt he's climbed up to the attic. Have you looked INSIDE all the shoes, behind all the books/dvds/tapes on any shelves, behind any shelving that's not built in, under and behind the fridge(you'll have to check underneath then pull it out carefully to check the back), under the stove, inside every cabinet(including IN all the pots, pans, tupperware, etc)...?

They will also climb up under inside furniture, so have you pulled all the couch cushions, turned over any recliners/chairs to check inside and underneath?

Please don't use a glue trap. Then you'd be posting how to treat a python who's had half it's skin ripped off.

Wow, thanks for all the replies.

Well, I literally have taken everything upstairs apart (shelves, drawers, etc), and I'm positive that this skin I found is his, which points to the attic, since there is a nice little hole that looks like snake heaven from the outside right next to where he shed, but once you go in it is nearly impossible to get out.

Also, the attic is naturally around 80 to 75 degrees, so he won't be cold. However, I definitely am worried about his lungs and the air in there. It honestly is not fun to breathe, and I didn't have to slither through it.

I'm going to go check the pinkie traps, and I'll consider putting down chicken broth if you guys think it has a chance of working.

I do not really know what he was being fed, because I bought him from a family who just had bought him as well. I think they were feeding him pinkies, and he was so tiny I can't imagine him eating anything bigger.

I feel so depressed about all this, and my other snakes are mad at me because I've been in their room with the light on all night.

Thanks everyone for your help.

UPDATE:
Checked the traps, and I haven't found any snake in them. The pinkies are still there as well.

I'll just have to keep watching.

You'll find him! I have my fingers crossed for you.

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Originally Posted by ReptileJenna

UPDATE:
Checked the traps, and I haven't found any snake in them. The pinkies are still there as well.

I'll just have to keep watching.

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Please tell me you didn't take the idiotic advice about using glue traps? :please:


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Please tell me you didn't take the idiotic advice about using glue traps? :please:


dr del

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No, and I didn't really plan to once I thought about it. However, I thought I remember once reading about something that was safe for snakes and animals, so I was considering looking for it online to see if there was such a thing.

Now I know why people by Burmese Pythons and Boa Constrictors. You have a better chance of finding if it gets out and they are two fat for a minuscule hole in the wall or to slide under doors.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Please tell me you didn't take the idiotic advice about using glue traps? :please:


dr del

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There was a link to a topic about non-sticky snake traps that look like they would work really well. I think it was on page 2 or 3.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ReptileJenna

UPDATE:
Checked the traps, and I haven't found any snake in them. The pinkies are still there as well.

I'll just have to keep watching.

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Pinkie rats or pinkie mice? A mouse that small might not even catch his eye. they are too small for even hatching ball pythons.

sent from my EVO

Also temember that balls are shy, nocturnal creatures attracted to tight warm places. If you have the traps out in the open (of the attic) and it's still daylight, he could very well have decided the food is too exposed to be tempting and gone to find somewhere else to curl up instead. Make sure the traps are somewhere you can find/get them but also not in the middle of an open space where he wouldn't want to go. If you have heat sources, traps near those will likely attract him better.

I dunno the risk for leaving bps out, but when I had rodents that got loose I checked every hour and very rarely found them farther than under the radiator next to the cage. If you don't have any animals that will eat a bp and there's not as much risk of electricution/them hurting themselves as is for rodents, then you might be able to wait until night or even next morning, though I'll leave that up to the more expierenced bp owners to tell you.

If you really want to be thourough (and messy), you can put down a bit of flour in places he's likely to be. If you find slither marks, you'll have a better idea of where he is. That you can definitely leave until the next morning to check since he's going to be active mainly at night. Remember he's probably startled to find himself suddenly out of his cage that was fine tuned to his needs and is likely to be looking for a good replica. :3

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Originally Posted by ReptileJenna

He escaped from a rack that I've never had issues with until this couple of hatchlings, and he then slithered his way into a closet, then over a step into the attic closet area, which has the entrance to the walls. I found his skin shed about less than a foot away from a small hole in the wall with wires going into it. There is about no other place he could of gone, and I tore up every other place in the upstairs everywhere.

I had no idea it existed, and I plan to seal it up after giving him some time to leave it. I don't want him to be trapped.

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Is there anywhere that hole in the wall leads too? I would be willing to bet he could be back there somewhere.

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Originally Posted by Slim

Are you positive the shed you found was from your lost BP? Finding snake shed in a attic is not unusual. Just something to consider.
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This is all too true.

A couple years ago I found what looked like snake poo in an unused room upstairs.

It puzzled me greatly until I saw a Milk Snake dart across my bathroom floor one night.

It's apparently been living here a long time.

[very, very old country log house]

UPDATE:
Have some sad news. I talked to someone who knew more about the attic, and he basically said that the pink insulator stuff would of killed him by now and will eventually really hurt me, if I keep looking for him. I'm going to go in one last time to retrieve the dead pinkies, and then just hope I'll stumble upon him. From then on, I'll have to just hope he finds his way outside of the wall.

Thanks for all the help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ReptileJenna

UPDATE:
Have some sad news. I talked to someone who knew more about the attic, and he basically said that the pink insulator stuff would of killed him by now and will eventually really hurt me, if I keep looking for him. I'm going to go in one last time to retrieve the dead pinkies, and then just hope I'll stumble upon him. From then on, I'll have to just hope he finds his way outside of the wall.

Thanks for all the help.

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I don't necessarly agree with this. Insulation dust is not healthy, that's a given, but how much dust is a BP going to stir up to breath in? Not much. And yes, if your up there moving bats of insulation around, you should be wearing gloves and a mask, if you do, you'll be fine, assuming were talking about standard insulation batting, not old school asbestos stuff.

Well, it is suppose to be some special insulation stuff, and they say that I need an actual gas mask to go inside like I want to.

Also, I have to admit, I wouldn't be surprised if he breathed to much of it. It would of been easy to do, especially since it is nearly impossible to slither through without slipping into it. It could barely hold my water bottle.

Don't give up hope yet! We've had squirrels eat through the roof and only die when they couldn't pass whatever's in the insulation, so apparently actually being in and around the stuff doesn't kill all that quickly for animals that small. We've also had birds and bats living beside the stuff inside the roof, so I don't think short term exposure is that lethal for little ones that breathe a lot less than we do.

Don't give up! They can survive not eating for a looong time and being cooler won't kill him right away. Did you look at the link for the bottle trap that keeps him inside it once he's in? Also once you've checked a room completely and you're sure he's not in there wedge rolled up dish towels or something similar under the closed door cracks so you know he's not moving between rooms you've already been through. Something else that might work is hanging a heat lamp above a hide on the floor of a room. Nice warm place for him to stay put for a bit hopefully....I've heard of a number of snakes that have been lost for a week or more and turn up eventually ;) Good luck!! I'm hoping for ya!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ReptileJenna

UPDATE:
Have some sad news. I talked to someone who knew more about the attic, and he basically said that the pink insulator stuff would of killed him by now and will eventually really hurt me, if I keep looking for him. I'm going to go in one last time to retrieve the dead pinkies, and then just hope I'll stumble upon him. From then on, I'll have to just hope he finds his way outside of the wall.

Thanks for all the help.

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How much does the attic insulator expert know about snakes, and BPs specifically? I understand that you are very worried about your BP, but sit and take a breath for a second. Almost every post you've made in this thread is "I've looked again, didn't find him, he must be dead!" BPs are very hardy creatures - We only stress so much about ideal husbandry because we want them to thrive, not just survive, in a pet scenario. So stop freaking out and just keep looking. The suggestion about blocking off rooms is a good one, so he can't move as much while you are trying to eliminate areas. Try putting pinks out again in a week or so, when he'll be hungrier. I also can't stress enough another point that has been made, which is THINK SMALL. BPs are very hardy creatures - We only stress so much about ideal husbandry because we want them to thrive, not just survive, in a pet scenario. So stop freaking out and just keep looking. I apologize if that sounds insensitive, but the emotional pendulum isn't going to help you find him.

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Originally Posted by Trochu

I don't necessarly agree with this. Insulation dust is not healthy, that's a given, but how much dust is a BP going to stir up to breath in? Not much. And yes, if your up there moving bats of insulation around, you should be wearing gloves and a mask, if you do, you'll be fine, assuming were talking about standard insulation batting, not old school asbestos stuff.

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x2

UPDATE:
Thanks for all the support! Anyways, I found him! :w00t:

After spending every night exploring the attic (my muscles are now toned from all the climbing, ha ha :P ), I saw a small connected area that was towards the inside of the wall, and I was able to army-crawl inside. He was in there caught in a million wires/metal. He was extremely thirsty and seems a bit smaller than his brother, but he is alive!

Anyways, I took him to the veterinarian, and they said he'd probably be okay, but to take him in if he isn't acting back to normal within four days, because then they would like to do some more testing on the lungs and his system to check for damage, since it was correct about the insulator in the attic. I know because the person who told me was the person who put in, and specially got it to try to kill any animals that got in, including snakes.


THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP :D!!!! I had never lost a snake before, and I honestly thought I was immune to the chances of losing one. However, once I saw that I had lost a snake to my gigantic attic that was made to kill snakes and be nearly impossible to walk around, I nearly fainted.

I now have safely taped up the whole reptile room so there is absolutely no where they can go.

Glad you found him. Good luck. You may be surprised how hardy the little guy can be.

Good to hear a happy ending :)

good to hear you found him i knew you would find him

Congrats on finding him! Good job on not giving up, too! Let's hope he bounces back from this without a problem. :snake: