That sinking feeling...

When you open a snake cage to find... no snake!!

Ever had escapees? Tell me about it! Post your stories.

I just had my first escapee last night. All the cages are in the guest room temporarily, and we have guests over. Last night something in the guest room started to smell, and I instructed the guests not to open any of the snake cages; I said that if it reeks, it's probably the blood's doing, and the blood will bite. So I went to the blood's tub, noting that one of the casters underneath had been moved, opened the tub, and it was empty. :O I could have died right there! And, too late, I'd told them about his aggression problems. Everybody was freaking out. I wasn't too worried; he's much too fat to get into any trouble (like in the radiator or behind the wardrobe). I found him under the beardie viv, and, with MUCH difficulty, pulled him out with a clothes hanger (I need a snake hook). No harm done. But lol I was forced to put him in my room until I can get to the store to buy a tub with a more secure lid. :P I'm just so glad I found him and that nobody was hurt!

I have lost my snake twice actually. Tho he never escaped from his enclosure, one time i forgot to put the lid back on but in the mourning he was still inside thank god.

The first time i lost him i fel a sleep while i was holding him, i had a bit too much to drink and dossed off (ya ya call me an idiot or whatever i dc) but i found him the next mourning.

The second time it was pretty much the same thing, besides with medication. I was put on new meds for Bipolar disorder, the doc never really told me they made you sleepy but damn, i was out in seconds. On this occasion he was lost for well over a week, finally i found him in a closet that i had already searched 2 or three times, hes a lucky snake to still be alive i guess. Thankfully i live in Florida and the temps are never really a problem in my house.

Now i rarely take my snake out of his cage and make sure the lids on nice and tight. Actually i still hold him for few minutes a day but i dont really sit down and relax with him... too many past problems, too much stress.

Almost called in sick at work until I found him in the closet. That was the scariest 30 minutes I've had in keeping snakes since the dogs that I lived with wanted to use my snakes as chew toys. Since that incident, I have have learned to double check the locks on their cages everytime they are opened. Maybe I'm being a little paranoid but better safe than sorry.

No escapes yet but ....I haven't been doing it that long. I am sure at some point it is kind of like a bite....it will happen to everyone!!

I used to keep ratsnakes and cornsnakes in aquariums when I was younger. Needless to say there is probably an albino cornsnake population near my old house...

One of my male GTP escaped from his tub he was about 1.5 old and it was feeding day..... The hubby got up to go to work and said..Baby your GTP didn’t eat....and ahhh....his cage is empty... I jumped out of bed so frantic ....wondering where my little worm went too... looking high and low checking odd places and open spaces...NOTHING..... About in tears I sat on the edge of my bed and looked over and he was coiled up resting on my pillow....:O

My albino ball is the only escapee I've had. He was in a 20 long on my dresser. The lid was only weighted down with light fixtures. He was small - so I never worried. But of course, he got bigger and stronger - so I ended up finding his tank empty one morning. D'oh! :stupidme:

I tore my room apart for hours but could not find him. He could have escaped under the door, and could be anywhere! Or worse, found by the dog.

I was so upset - having lost some money recently and thinking I just doubled it with his loss...

Found him in my armour later that night coiled in between my t-shirts. I didn't check there stupidly because it sits almost 2 feet off the ground. All tanks all all equipped with locks now! :D

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Originally Posted by Warocker's Wife

One of my male GTP escaped from his tub he was about 1.5 old and it was feeding day..... The hubby got up to go to work and said..Baby your GTP didn’t eat....and ahhh....his cage is empty... I jumped out of bed so frantic ....wondering where my little worm went too... looking high and low checking odd places and open spaces...NOTHING..... About in tears I sat on the edge of my bed and looked over and he was coiled up resting on my pillow....:O

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hahahahahahahahahahaha

THAT IS FUNNY!!!!!!!

Five time escapee. I overestimated my tank. I had a 20g aquarium run with a light that stuck through the screen. The little RB managed to squeeze himself between the screen and the light (never burned) and slid out underneath the plank of wood that I used as weight. Twice in my closet, twice under my bed, once behind the bookcase. Since then, he has had no chance to escape. I have about 20lbs worth of books on his 40g, and the only spot that isn't covered with wood is covered by a screen. This thing is ghetto, but serves the purpose.

wasnt really a escape but i once put one of my snakes in a little enclosure to feed and left for a moment. She wormed out and slithered a foot away. I came back in 15 minutes and looked in. My heart froze for a moment but then i saw her coiled on top of a box right next to it.:rofl::rofl::rofl:

i had a young Honduran milk snake (about the size of a bic pen).

She had a lovely naturalistic 20gal long with a LOCKING Lid, that i added velcro strips to at the edges. and she STILL ESCAPED! TWICE!

I found her next to a mattress in that room the first time, and the second time i was lamenting her loss (about 2 weeks later) and there she was crawling around on the floor! A little dehydrated and hungry but fine none the less.

Since i couldn't properly house her, i actually rehomed her. she got a new home with a woman who uses reptiles in educational shows in NY where i used to live. She's doing good last i heard.

So I voted never and ironicly enough today my new Female Spider escaped out of her quarantine tub. I guess I didn't lock it and found her about an hr later in my a/c duct. She wasn't cold or anything THANK GOD and active to say the least. Today is feeding day as well I wonder if she will eat, hope so seeing it was supposed to be her first time. Waiting like 2 hours to go for it.

One of my male GTP escaped from his tub he was about 1.5 old and it was feeding day..... The hubby got up to go to work and said..Baby your GTP didn’t eat....and ahhh....his cage is empty... I jumped out of bed so frantic ....wondering where my little worm went too... Looking high and low checking odd places and open spaces...NOTHING..... About in tears I sat on the edge of my bed and looked over and he was coiled up resting on my pillow....
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Time in a bottle....My bottle is empty.... hahahahahahahahahahaha

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Originally Posted by Andrew24

THAT IS FUNNY!!!!!!!

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Ha ha ha , that's a hoot

I've only had one escape and that was last summer when I got my first BP. He was kept in a glass tank and screen top with only a light on top. I woke up to find him gone. My room is in my basement so I spent about an hour combing the entire basement and found nothing. (Mom wasn't happy about any of this) Little Giovanni was finally found up about 20 stairs under a chest in our living room by my little brother.

one of my big normals got out one night and spent the night curled up ontop of the computer.i woke up checked on the snakes only to find her missing. looked towards the computer to find a ton of things knocked over. sure enough i didnt have to look far she was just sitting there looking at me haha.

Oh yes...

My little het. ultramel girl got to go on a little overnight adventure last... november, I think? I'd done my usual right-before-bed (3am!) check up and for some reason took her out and messed with her a little before sleep. Well, as luck would have it I'd unknowingly left the tub open juuuust enough for her to squeeze through.

I woke up that morning for the morning check up, saw the tub open from the door... heart stopped. Crap. Ran over to the tub, lifted up her hide... no snake. Lifted up the (very flat; desperation!) paper, no snake.

Now, at this time the snake room was still being set up and was an ungodly mess. Crap EVERYWHERE. I was despairing before the first hour because there was simply SO MUCH junk that she could be curled up in. Luckily, four hours of utterly destroying that room later and she was found - quite content, curled up in the gap between a tub and the rack-wall in one of my spare racks. I'd also checked that rack about four times prior, but she was in the tiniest, darkest corner she could have found. :rolleyes:

Suffice to say, the snakes are no longer messed with passed 10pm. The snake room was also straightened up and "sealed" that same day.

I forgot to put just one clamp back on my tub one time and, low and behold, that was the spot he squeezed out of. Fortunately, I knew exactly where he was. Under my bed. Everytime I'd have him out slithering around in my bedroom, he'd always try and go under my bed. So I figured that, being the creature of habit that he is, he finally got his chance to see what under the bed looked like! He was wrapped around a toolbox that I had under there. Finding him was the easy part. Getting him out of there was the "fun" part. :oops:

Forgot to put the binder clip on my lesser's tub the same day that my ASFs decided they were going to chew their way to freedom. I came home to find him coiled up on top of their tank, 2 rooms away, just as the first ASF's nose poked thru the hole they made in the mesh, 2 inches away from his eagerly awaiting mouth. I put him back and fed him the main chewer, as a reward to him and as punishment for the attempted jailbreaker.

i had my mojave female ball python escape from her tub twice...little bugger

the first time i didn't even notice she had gotten out till i found her in my bedroom freaking out my cats lol....she was perfectly fine...was out less then an hour I would assume

the second time she got out i woke up to find her missing...i freaked...my husband and I looked everywhere all morning and then we both had to go to work. As soon as i was off work i had my friend come over and help me look for hours....nothing

my husband came home and we looked...another 3 hours till we found her underneath the floorboards, behind my kitchen counter.....she was all the way in the back underneath the counters, about 3-4 feet from anywhere i could get my arms to fit

we ended up having to cut through the back of the counter-top to get her....she was fine...i think laughing at me for having to destroy my kitchen to save her scaly butt

her tub is escape proof now....uhg lol

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Originally Posted by kelevra

Five time escapee. I overestimated my tank. I had a 20g aquarium run with a light that stuck through the screen. The little RB managed to squeeze himself between the screen and the light (never burned) and slid out underneath the plank of wood that I used as weight. Twice in my closet, twice under my bed, once behind the bookcase. Since then, he has had no chance to escape. I have about 20lbs worth of books on his 40g, and the only spot that isn't covered with wood is covered by a screen. This thing is ghetto, but serves the purpose.

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Jeez! Maybe you should invest in some cage clips rather than weights :gj:

He has yet to escape. But boy do I know the feeling!
My Normal came home on New Years Eve morning, Steven and I got his tank all set up, ate dinner, checked on him about 30 times, and left for the night. I got home around 4am, checked the tank, and saw him curled up in his hide, and went to bed.
9Am rolls around and my father (very scared of snakes) busts into my room asking "Do you have the snake? Because he's not in his tank". I ran out, took everything out of the tank and nothing, I was freaking out.
...turns out he decided that all the way under his bedding under the water dish, was a great place to hide...

well I've had snakes get out, but I can't say I really know "the feeling"

Ive have 2 snakes get out, but i can't saw that I was worried. first time was my smaller male carpet, about 4 foot long, when I put him in my females cage, the cage keeps her in... not him. but a 4 foot carpet knocking crap over as he ventures isn't hard to find.

2nd one was my female carpet, 5 1/2 feet, got out because while showing off all my animals to everyone at a party, my dumba$$ didn't latch her cage when I put her back, but again a 5 1/2 snake isn't hard to find, found her curled up in the guest bedroom in a blanket that was on the floor. I pulled the blanket up and she just proped her head up with the look of "excuse me I was sleeping"

now if my baby amazon tree boa got out, that might make me panic, that worm could be anywhere.