HELP! ESCAPED BALL!

I came home today and my cat had wedged open the weighted cage top...and Roo is now missing.
We searched our small apartment up and down, and my roomate and I are (predictably) freaking out. She had a black-headed caique parrot that I'm really concerned about. We looked under the stove, behind it, behind the fridge, under the fridge, in the bathroom, under the sink...everywhere. I have the heat lamps on in the tank and have a freshly warmed rat waiting for her (she hasn't eaten in a week and a half.)
What can I do? I know neither my roomate nor I will sleep tonight knowing the Ball is out. Any tips?

Look in and around anything that generates heat like the back of the fridge. Try setting out water dishes by heating pads but keep them close to a wall they won't come out into the open if they don't have to.

I wouldn't think you should have to worry about the bird unless it is a small one.

Also try the 'Ten foot rule" They 'usually' dont go farther than that from their enclosure. Good luck!

Make sure you check everywhere... just last night Eleanor squeezed all four feet of her body into a half full box of tissues. I couldn't believe it! I know they like tight places but I didn't think that was physically possible. Good luck!

Yikes! That is horrible news.

I've never been through this, so I don't have any tricks, other than what you've already tried. So the only advice I can give is not to ever give up hope, even if you don't find her right away. Look at Raj who found Hissy after 4 months or something. And I think Marla had on turn up after a couple of months. Sometimes they turn up when you least expect. But I hope you find her soon, and make sure you keep us posted on the situation.

I'm sending you the snake-finding vibes!!!

The snake-finding vibes worked! We found Roo after a hair-raising 3 hours because my cat was nosing around under the bed. My roomate, now very irked at the cat that let out the snake (that scared the bird that tortured the humans and so on and so on....) scooted her to the side. Or tried to. Phoenix wouldn't move. Audrey grabbed the flashlight and there was Roo, startled but very much okay. A couple tears were shed, more than a few curse words slung, and Ruby is now safe in her tank with an entire semester's textbooks and a pair of platform boots on top of it.
Thank you so much for your help, everyone....and guess who's buying a new tank tomorrow?

Yay! So happy you found her!!! :D:D:D

Whoopie!!! Snake-vibes rule!!!!

YAY! I hate when one of my guys goes missing ( its only happened once .. but still ). I'm glad you will get some sleep tonite ;)

i didnt get to read that till you found her since i was at work. i had one escape, my BCI, the first day i got her, but my arents found her right away on top of her cage, in the sun. i guess she wanted to get a tan. but i really glad you found her...darn cats

:whew:! Glad you found her. The folks who've been on here a while will remember that I had a period of weeks where it seemed every critter in the house took a turn escaping, so I definitely know the feeling. That was a quick find, though, and kudos to the cat for helping fix her mistake. :)

It's all about the slide-screen-top cages. I've lost a few snakes... for a time. I was using the ol' books on a lid trick and the same snake got out three times, but went as far as under the couch that was 2 feet away. Although, once she wedged herself under the stove fireplace. I closed off all access with a monopoly box, but cut a small hole in it large enough for the snake to get into. It was winter, so it was cold. I then put a heat lamp over the monopoly box, and sure enough a few minutes later the snake moved to where the lamp was heating up the box.
Another one... well, I was drinking and left the snake on a chair and suddenly remembered I left it out. It was gone! I searched everywhere!! So, the next day I got home from work and took a nap. When I woke up it was dark out, and all the lights were out. I thought this would be the best time to creep around the house to see if I could see any slithery thing moving around. I looked in the kitchen and saw a little dark shadow on my white tile kitchen floor coming out from under the refrigerator. GOT HIM!

congrats.....now if i can be that lucky.

This is so weird, I read how UberAlices ball escapes ... and I was thinking that will never happend to me.
I walk past Tantrum's enclosure and see that she defecated, so I clean it up ... and start picking up her hides to check up on her ... guess what ... SHE WASN"T IN THERE ...
Whats really weird is how I've been reading about ball pythons getting out ... and now mine ran out on me!
Thankfully I found her about three feet away, she managed to climb under my bed sheet cover.
I only had to search for about twenty minutes thankfully.

That's awesome, Blink. Roo apparently got out a few weeks ago and Audrey found her, but she was just asleep under a blankie about 2 feet away. I rigged the cage up with a padlock now...no way she's getting out unless the cat somehow figures out how to pick locks. ;)
Bait, yeah, I have a slide-lock top on both my tanks. Vash has a pin-and-hole lock on her tank, while Roo has a padlock (Vash has never tried to get out before). This month has definitely taught me to not overestimate my trust in my critters.

Urrr....
I had my small male BP Cypher escape on me twice earlier this year...I tore the whole apartment up looking for him the first time and eventually found him in my closet behind some old clothes...the second time I could not find him at all for two weeks and I gave up...until about 4:30 am one morning when I heard a crash in my bedroom and when I turned on the light there he was on my bookcase....he had knocked over some books and I swear he had a sheepish look to him...:) I now follow the rule that an escaped animal will show up when they are darn good and ready...you can look for days and never find them until they decide to make an appearance...

EyeLashViper