Escape at school!

deleted

thanks!

...and I have made suggestions. In the words of Yoda, "Do or Don't do. There is no try." I'm not belittling him. I even commended him on his effort to educate his students about snakes. He didn't like that I said he needed locks. He didn't like that I said not to leave rat tanks open. Fine. I'm glad his school is so accepting of all of this. And I'm really glad parents are in an uproar. I feel he, and WE, are very lucky in that respect. But none of this needed to happen in the first place. I'm not beating a dead horse. He already let a snake go loose, I'm just telling him not to add loose rodents to the mix. I'm not going to back down from this when people say I'm being to "harsh". Harsh is the Lacey Act. This is the type of thing that will cause more problems for us. If he, or anyone else thinks its okay then let them come for your snakes first.


This was in response to the apparently now deleted post above. I didn't think posts could even be deleted.

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Originally Posted by cecilbturtle

thanks!

...and I have made suggestions. In the words of Yoda, "Do or Don't do. There is no try." I'm not belittling him. I even commended him on his effort to educate his students about snakes. He didn't like that I said he needed locks. He didn't like that I said not to leave rat tanks open. Fine. I'm glad his school is so accepting of all of this. And I'm really glad parents are in an uproar. I feel he, and WE, are very lucky in that respect. But none of this needed to happen in the first place. I'm not beating a dead horse. He already let a snake go loose, I'm just telling him not to add loose rodents to the mix. I'm not going to back down from this when people say I'm being to "harsh". Harsh is the Lacey Act. This is the type of thing that will cause more problems for us. If he, or anyone else thinks its okay then let them come for your snakes first.


This was in response to the apparently now deleted post above. I didn't think posts could even be deleted.

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They can edit within a certain time frame and just replace the text.


Anyway. I think what needed to be said has been said. People can choose to take advice, they aren't required to follow your directions. Although that might probably be the better decision, we can't make anyone do something.

Just let it go.. You don't need to keep rephrasing your point. The point has been made.

I hope the snake is found safely! They usually don't travel too far. I would keep checking every nook and cranny every night if you can. He might move around. Get down on the ground and pretend you are a snake.

I remember there being some sort of cabinet that you can't get into. Is it possible to get a small camera in the hole to take some pictures? Maybe if you can find where the snake is it would help :P.

If you think he might have gone further than your classroom, I would start checking other nearby rooms.

And just to give a little more depth to this..Talae has really done his research.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ke-Owner/page2
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-as-a-donation
He is very open to the criticism of others and seems to fully understand that locks would have been a good idea. He was just too trustworthy of strangers. Mistakes happen. He was never notified of the "requirement" of having locks on your cages for a school pet. He even contacted the administration regarding the matter. He asked for advice on his setup often and not once did anyone mention locks. I'd be willing to bet that if someone suggested it, he would have agreed it was a good idea. So lets stop beating poor Talae down for making a mistake. It happens. Let's move on.

I was unaware that rats could jump like that. I have been doing the rat with no lid since day one and posted about it in my first post and since then. It was suggested to me by the local pet store and seemed to make sense. The store seems much more knowledgeable than PetCo and the other big chains (although, I am aware that pet stores are notorious for being wrong). I posted this situation here on the forums to ask for help. I did not mean to imply that you brought the issue back up. This seems to be blowing up and that is not what I want at all. I want to be able to use this site for help in all things BP and I am feeling less like being educated and more like being belittled.

I check the surrounding rooms daily. My first spots to check are my classroom, the warm spots I know of relatively nearby (behind fridge, under copier, etc) and I try and look in other people's room too. I am feeling rather defeated about this whole thing. I will keep looking as long as it takes, though.

Point taken.

Good luck!

Could you elaborate on what I should do with the rats? I really do want to do this the right way. I am unsure as what you mean by wire across the top. I figure that they should be open enough for the snake to get in and eat, but closed enough to prevent escape. I could use the help of people here to accomplish that.

What has worked for me in the past is just leave the rat or mouse in a wire cage or a plastic tub with a lid and a bunch of holes in it. You don't necessarily want the snake to eat. If it eats it could easily retreat to a cozy spot and stay there for weeks. You'll come in one day to see the snake near the rat container trying to find a way in or in a hide near the container. The snake will be able to smell the rat just fine with holes in a plastic tub. I personally would use a small wire cage on the floor next to a heat source like a heating pad. Put hides close to the rat and the heat source so that the snake wants to stay there and not leave to find a safer warmer place.

I helped a friend find his missing ball python after his son left the tub slightly pulled out of the rack. We set 3 empty cereal boxes on their wide sides and the wire cage with a few mice on top of them. We set a couple of heating mats near the boxes and a night heat lamp shining on the floor near by. The floor was tile. We also set a bowl of water out.

The next morning the snake was in one of the boxes.

I got on him for not locking his cages and racks way more than I got on you. ;)

I will definitely modify what I have been doing. Thanks for the advice. This combined with the occasional corn starch test and constant searching sounds like a decent plan.

I went in today and found both rats still in the tank with no signs of the snake. I cleaned their tank (rodents are fairly gross) and got them new food and water. After school I moved them to my classroom, keeping the lid on this time. I noticed that one of them died at some point today :(

They had constant food and water with places to burrow and hide. Not really sure what happened, but the other one is still in the tank.

I also laid down a UTH with a thermostat and a hide with water nearby. I will be honest, I am losing hope...but I will continue this all year if needed.

Don't give up.

About a year ago I met a guy at a reptile show who had a corn snake go missing for almost a year. He found it one day just laying in the open. Vet said he was really dehydrated but otherwise fine. He made a full recovery.

The second rat died today. What is a typical lifespan of a small adult rat? I purchased two at the beginning of this process and they seemed fine for this whole time. I have been feeding them and making sure they have clean water and a fairly clean tank. I cleaned the tank with just water on Monday morning. I then had one die that day some time before I noticed around 5:00. The other died today sometime between 7:30 and 4:00.

Also, I really miss my snake...

post pics of what you have set up.

That is a little concerning... I would take the rat to a vet and get a necropsy done... Maybe there is some outside factor killing them? Rats don't just die out of nowhere..

I got rid of it already :(

I am at home now and will take a picture of the tank setup tomorrow.

i agree. mice just dont die out of no where. ive had mine since sunday. they are doing good.

and also i would go for the locking lack. not for the snake. but so the kids cant open it while you arent supervising.

good luck finding your snake.

photos of the area and set up really would help. Someone might see something you aren't.

Here it is from two angles. The food is packaged breakfast stuff that the kids are given. They never eat it all (middle school students are too cool to eat in front of others). The bread is some kind of a carrot/apple muffin and there are also cookie-type things in there with an apple (although the apple is from Wednesday...after the first one died). This pic shows what the tank has basically consisted of since I bought them.
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...-20-54_140.jpg

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...-20-42_400.jpg

Maybe some pesticide on the apple could have killed the rodents? I dunno'. Just a thought.

If it ate the seeds from the apple that could enplane the death.

No seeds were eaten and the apple was only in there for the second one that died.

I say put a heating pad and a water bowl down on the floor in a corner of the room near the cabinets that the ball may be hiding in.

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Originally Posted by GuNDeZZZ

I say put a heating pad and a water bowl down on the floor in a corner of the room near the cabinets that the ball may be hiding in.

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I have done this almost nightly since the escape (I have forgotten once or twice). I am about ready to start trying other people's rooms one night at a time...

I must have missed you saying this earlier in the thread. My bad.
Are you 100% sure the kid or someone else didn't steal the ball?

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Originally Posted by Lupe

If it ate the seeds from the apple that could enplane the death.

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How so? I've fed rats whole apples plenty of times and none of them have died from the seeds.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

How so? I've fed rats whole apples plenty of times and none of them have died from the seeds.

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They are poisonous. I'm not quite sure how many seeds would have to be eaten by a rodent to die, but much less than a human (of course you won't die from eating a few seeds)
But a quick search has told me that the number of seeds from one apple wouldn't be enough for even a mouse. So My theory is definitely out.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/18...seed-toxicity/

Apple seeds contain cyanide. Its not harmful to us because we tend not to chew them, but it could be enough for a mouse or rat. I am in no way saying thats the xause. Just a theory like the poster above me mentioned.

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