The Great Escape

Sunday night I let Mr Burrows 'escape' from the vivarium again. I watched him traverse down the table and along the wall, as before. He's curious and seems to fearlessly explore every dark nook and cranny. Then I made the mistake of taking eyes off him for a few minutes and...he was not where I expected him to be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxz1pVM6R8I

In fact, he was not anywhere!
Checked all the places he'd been before, and others, and I just could not find him. But I figured he had to be somewhere in the living room of my little apartment.

Then Monday after work I took apart the living room trying to find him but the little guy had vanished! Checked the closets, book cases...no where to be found. I decided to close all the doors so wherever he was, he couldn't get into another room.
Tuesday after work I deduced that if he's not in the living room kitchen bathroom or closets, maybe he made it all the way into my bedroom. So I looked around and didn't see him but found some fresh poop behind the laundry basket. AHA! But still couldn't find him.
Turned off the light, left the room and closed door, hoping he'd get active and move around and I could check in a while for signs of movement or activity. After around 10 minutes there was a crash and I went in and finally found him; he'd tried climbing up something that fell over!
CRISIS AVERTED and lesson learned LOL.

Held him for a few minutes, he felt really cold - and dry. Then I held him outside enclosure and he voluntarily climbed back in. After letting him get comfortable for 1/2 hour or so and putting fresh water in bowl, offered him a f/t rat which he struck right away and ate without a problem.

Then this morning I changed the water as per usual schedule and he unexpectedly came out of his hide and went straight to the bowl to get a drink, had never seen this before.

Every day there's something exciting and interesting for a new BP owner!

At least you got him back! Since getting my first one, I have never taken my eyes off of the fella when he is out and about. They can be quite quick when they want to be, and even looking away for 30 seconds of so they can get under a sofa or some cabinets etc. Must have been quite the relief when you finally found him eh haha :)

Hahaha! Glad you found him.

My husband left one of our young BP's tub cracked open too much (he didn't push it all the way back into the rack) and he got out. Both times we found him curled up on the top of a rat rack. :P

When I was in college, my roommate's ball python escaped (she didn't have a locking lid and didn't bother putting anything on top of it to keep him from getting out) and he was gone for about 3 days! We were looking eeeeverywhere, especially since she wasn't even allowed to have him. Finally we kind of gave up, and then when she was getting ready for class, she found him in her makeup case.

Sometimes what I do, if my roommates are home and can keep an eye on him, I'll leave Nagini on the coffee table while I run upstairs for something, or do up my dinner dishes. I went back into the family room with dessert and a glass of water and Nagini was nowhere on the table. Seeing my panicked face, my best friend pointed and said "I have kept an eye on him. Have you ever seen him climb down from the coffee table?" Well I hadn't and suffice to say I was more than surprised to see how agile they are at climbing. For a non arboreal species.

Yes, they can climb when they want to. Seems like, if the head can reach a raised area he can pull himself up.
Also, while being watched my BP will be slow or motionless but I've seen him move unexpectedly fast along the parquet floor.

I don't want to confine him to the enclosure forever since he enjoys exploring, and will figure out a way to "snake proof" the living room so he can only wander in that area without getting into other rooms. Also now know to keep an eye on him whenever he's out and about!

Last night I let Mr Burrows out again while I cleaned tank & decor and changed substrate.
But this time I kept an eye on him and found out that there's space between radiator pipe and wall that he can squeeze through to get from living room into bedroom.

I only have the one snake, think of him as a pet, and don't have the heart to confine him to a tiny enclosure for his entire life, but of course I don't want to have him disappear! I can plug that hole so he stays in the living room but even this area is pretty small and restricted, so I'm trying to think of some way to create a play area or some type of maze that he could crawl through and could be changed periodically.

Has anyone else done anything like that or am I as usual overthinking things.

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Originally Posted by The Golem

Last night I let Mr Burrows out again while I cleaned tank & decor and changed substrate.
But this time I kept an eye on him and found out that there's space between radiator pipe and wall that he can squeeze through to get from living room into bedroom.

I only have the one snake, think of him as a pet, and don't have the heart to confine him to a tiny enclosure for his entire life, but of course I don't want to have him disappear! I can plug that hole so he stays in the living room but even this area is pretty small and restricted, so I'm trying to think of some way to create a play area or some type of maze that he could crawl through and could be changed periodically.

Has anyone else done anything like that or am I as usual overthinking things.

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These snakes don't particularly want to have a play area. They are perfectly happy sitting in their hides all day, and getting fed once a week. They don't have the capability to understand that you have taken them out to 'play' or 'enjoy the space'. I always try to explain this to my dad, who thinks that they should be out more.

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Originally Posted by George1994

These snakes don't particularly want to have a play area. They are perfectly happy sitting in their hides all day, and getting fed once a week. They don't have the capability to understand that you have taken them out to 'play' or 'enjoy the space'. I always try to explain this to my dad, who thinks that they should be out more.

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Yes I've read that some people think they like to be kept in a small opaque plastic bin and have a rat tossed in once a week. But they can move pretty quickly and I agree with dad - they really want to explore every dark nook and cranny they can get to so based on actual behaviour they do want to get out and move around.
They're in hides all day because they're nocturnal! If they were really "perfectly happy" in a tiny space we wouldn't need lid locks - they are famous as "escape artists" because it is in their nature to explore and move around a lot.
Also my snake is learning - he lowers himself off the table faster and travels his 'escape route' a lot quicker now than the first couple of times I let him roam.

Will try to set up webcam and record some of our 'play time' soon :)

Well that is your perogative, but you contradict yourself. You said they want to wander around and search, yet it took you a few days to find it when it got out. If it was searching and finding places to go all the time, youd of spotted it sooner. 90% of the time ot was out, I would put good money on him being sat in 2 or 3 places and not moving. Just my 2 cents man. Each to their own, if he doesn't seem stressed and feeds well ect, then crack on.

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Originally Posted by George1994

Well that is your perogative, but you contradict yourself. You said they want to wander around and search, yet it took you a few days to find it when it got out. If it was searching and finding places to go all the time, youd of spotted it sooner. 90% of the time ot was out, I would put good money on him being sat in 2 or 3 places and not moving. Just my 2 cents man. Each to their own, if he doesn't seem stressed and feeds well ect, then crack on.

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No contradiction.
It took 2 days because I didn't expect the snake to find a hole in the wall with enough space between radiator pipe and wall so that he could crawl into another room! I wasn't even looking in bedroom until I was unable to find him in the living room.

Had him out for a couple of hours last night, had a lot of fun. I've blocked the bottom of the rad so he can't go there again but he still likes to move around and check things out.

We did some couch surfing
http://i57.tinypic.com/96yej6.jpg

I handled him so he decided to return the favour

http://i59.tinypic.com/2mdlbx4.jpg

Gave me a neck massage

http://i62.tinypic.com/117saw9.jpg

Head scratcher

http://i60.tinypic.com/33cozex.jpg

He wrapped around my arm like this for a good 5 minutes. Just hangin' around

http://i59.tinypic.com/24wau7q.jpg

And the descent

http://i57.tinypic.com/2vbqxdi.jpg

When I took him back to enclosure he wouldn't put his head in so I returned to couch and let him tool around on it and on the floor around it for another half hour before finally picking him up and putting him away for the night. He got a good workout LOL.
And he's now up to almost 400 grams, visibly bigger and an increase of 70+ grams in a little over a month.

We get our snakes out every day they aren't digesting or in shed. It's got so they wait at the door to their cages and I open it and put my arm out and up the come. People who say they have no brain and no thought have no idea. This will probably piss some folks off but I just don't see the point in keeping an animal locked in a small space that you can't even see them for their entire lives. My husband and I really enjoy our 'snake TV'. Watching them explore and move around at night. Their cages are in the alcove where the TV used to be hence the name

I love letting Shesha (3 m.o. ball python) explore. I feel that it is good for him, he always shows active tongue flicking and seems very curious when he is out. I wish I could let him roam about a bit more but due to the two cats that we have (and the two young children for that matter) he is never more than a few inches from me. So far, the cats haven't shown any agression towards him. One of them actually seems more scared of him than anything. Our older cat had a run in with a wild snake about a year ago and seems to have never forgotten it, so he will just watch wide-eyed and seemingly disapprovingly from across the room. Our kitten it a bit more predatory though. I guess if nothing else, the cats ensure there is no risk of escape while he is out lol.

I just hope it isn't somehow stressful or overly exhausting for him being wrapped around my hands and arms as opposed to on the ground. I worry sometimes that the fact that he is not an arboreal snake, and that holding him is essentially on par with being in branches, might be unpleasant for him somehow. For the most part though he is pretty calm and seems content to be held. The other day I actually held him for the majority of the time that I was cleaning his tank. I did beg my hubby to hold him while I sprayed the cleaner since I couldn't have him in the same room. He has been getting more comfortable with handling Shesha in general, but is still nervous to hold him for prolonged periods of time. I was pretty impressed though that I was able to manage the cleaning with Shesha in one hand and my other hand occupied. Gotta love bps for not being so slithery, they are just so easy to manage.

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Originally Posted by calmolly1

We get our snakes out every day they aren't digesting or in shed. It's got so they wait at the door to their cages and I open it and put my arm out and up the come. People who say they have no brain and no thought have no idea. This will probably piss some folks off but I just don't see the point in keeping an animal locked in a small space that you can't even see them for their entire lives. My husband and I really enjoy our 'snake TV'. Watching them explore and move around at night. Their cages are in the alcove where the TV used to be hence the name

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We take our out all the time too. If I sit in the snake room for about 5 minutes over half of them come out to the front of their enclosure and go straight to where it opens. I'm of the opinion that some don't just want to sit in a tiny dark hole waiting for rodents to stop by. We have an OG female that I'm not even sure has ever been in her hide. She's always at the front of the tank laying until we come in. Then it's back and forth waiting to get out.

Ok. I am all for getting your snakes out and handling them, mixing things up and giving them some exercise... But, purposely letting your snake get out of it's enclosure(whatever that may be) and then losing it for 2 days seems ridiculous and totally irresponsible. Snakes, and ball pythons specifically, are known for escaping and hiding. They can easily hide, get stuck and injure themselves. Your snake probably seemed cold and dry because you let it get into an unhealthy situation. It WAS cold an it WAS dry.

I work with every one of my animals every single day. Dogs, parrot and snakes. My number one priority is always their safety. If the animals might get into an unsafe situation and I can't keep my eye on them then I put them away.

Glad to see I"m not the only one who treats his snake like a pet.

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Originally Posted by calmolly1

We get our snakes out every day they aren't digesting or in shed. It's got so they wait at the door to their cages and I open it and put my arm out and up the come. People who say they have no brain and no thought have no idea. This will probably piss some folks off but I just don't see the point in keeping an animal locked in a small space that you can't even see them for their entire lives. My husband and I really enjoy our 'snake TV'. Watching them explore and move around at night. Their cages are in the alcove where the TV used to be hence the name

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Yes! When he's out I'll turn off the tv and lower the lighting so he's more comfortable, and because he's more fun and entertaining than whatever police procedural might be on.

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Originally Posted by TXpythons

Ok. I am all for getting your snakes out and handling them, mixing things up and giving them some exercise... But, purposely letting your snake get out of it's enclosure(whatever that may be) and then losing it for 2 days seems ridiculous and totally irresponsible. Snakes, and ball pythons specifically, are known for escaping and hiding. They can easily hide, get stuck and injure themselves. Your snake probably seemed cold and dry because you let it get into an unhealthy situation. It WAS cold an it WAS dry.

I work with every one of my animals every single day. Dogs, parrot and snakes. My number one priority is always their safety. If the animals might get into an unsafe situation and I can't keep my eye on them then I put them away.

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I was freaking out! I didn't purposely lose him, I turned my back for a minute and he disappeared.
This is my first snake and first pet, there's been a lot of learning going on both for me and for the young ball python, and I definitely learned to not take my eyes off him when he's out of the enclosure.

Molly & Steve
0.1 normal BP 'Precioucess'
0.1 BCI 'Luna'