Help My BP Escaped

Please don't yell at me, I feel horrible. Last night I was beat and I appearntly didn't get his cage clip firmly on. When I woke up this moring he wasn't in his home and the clip had popped off. I have been trying to settle him into a Mon. feeding schdual, and was feeding him large rats, but last night while I was handeling him he started yawning, a lot. I quickly put him away, and was deciding weather I should really get him another rat so soon. I thought I got his clip on, but appearntly not firmly enough.
I went out and got him a rat and put it in his cage, which I will put on the floor tonight wth somthing up against t so he can eaily slither in. I know it's probobly along shot, but I checked all the hea sources I can think of. I am very worried.. andy tipson fidinghim???

It happens. If you have hardwood floors you can put down flour everywhere and that way if he moves in the middle of the night you'll have somewhere to at least begin to look. Check everywhere. Anywhere you would expect him not to be, check there. You would expect them to go to a heat source, but any time I've had a snake escape, they've always ended up in a relatively cold area. You could also along with leaving food out for him, leave one of his hides out on the floor near the rat. Good luck on finding him.

I'm sorry he got out! I know it feels awful but don't panic! I lost a snake in my TINY bedroom and it took me three weeks of searching before i found him. I suggest closing off the room as best as you can, so that he cannot escape to other places of the house. Check between any pillows or mattresses, they LOVE to squeeze into these soft dark places. They are good climbers- REALLY GOOD, so check high places you wouldn't normally look, like a cabinet or the top shelf in the closet. one trick is to put flour on the floor in a few places along the walls (they like traveling along the walls) when they go through the flour, they can make a track and you might get an idea what direction they are going. obviously it only works if your snake is exploring and not just hiding in one spot but its worth a try. also, try cleaning the room. if you are dusting or organizing things, you will end up moving objects you wouldn't think are possible to hide behind which might just be the trick. check any warm spots (computer, heater, lights, power strips, VHS/DVD players, Televisions etc.) multiple times a day. since ball pythons are nocturnal, try checking the room with a flashlight at 2:00 AM. (make sure all other lights have been out for a little while.)
Good luck.

Good luck, escape is part of the reason I bought a PVC snake cage instead of a aquarium with a screen lid. I didn't trust it they can't get out and also my cat might get in. With a PVC cage with a key lock he can't get out and my cat can't get in. It's better for the snake and my piece of mind. Hope you find him in good health. Keep us posted.

We've done a lot of cleaning, I even made my kids clean under thier beds. We have carpeting and and open floor plan.. No doors except the bedrooms and bathrooms. Which makes it worse. I'm really hoping he'll go for the rat. I'm setting up the area under the table where his cage normally lives up kinda cave-ish. Hoping that he'll come home....

Sorry that happened. Check in any boxes with handle holes and lids, under dressers, closet corners and under couches. Under appliances that give out heat. Start at his cage and slowly make your way outwards in circle rings.

I've learned recently during my BPs last feeding they are very sensitive to fast motion. I had the door closed but the motion of me moving my hand quick caught his attention every time I did it by mistake. He was hunting a rat but still stopped to look at me every time I moved quick. I'm only a newbie but setup a warm enclosed place for him to go and try and leave the area he might be quiet to come out. The noise etc may stress him so he won't come out. Orginally when trying to feed I scared him somehow with a movement or sound so he hid in his hide while I was getting his food out, it wasn't until I left the door closed for a few minutes that he calmed and realized something else was there.

When you set out the rat, be sure to leave on whatever heating devices you've been using for him (as long as you can do that safely with the tank on the floor) that way it'll create a hot spot he can see.
Also, check under appliances, especially the refrigerator since it puts out heat. I've known people who found missing snakes in cabinets under sinks, so those may be another place to look.

Hope you find him!

Keep us updated on the situation. There are also countless threads on the forum made by people in the exact situation you're in. You can probably find some good tips with a quick search.

Any boxes? Dressers, closets, open-ish light fixtures, sofa(s)? Dig in that sofa if you can; under, behind, and in between any cushions. Check under any sinks, not just in the obvious areas but up in the top parts, too. If they can squeeze up into somewhere they absolutely will.

Sorry to hear about this. :(

All, good info here.

Just to add, remember that they can squeeze down like a mouse and get through a narrower opening than expected.

Best

When you say large rat, I can only assume this is not a small snake, don't forget to look up, and not just under and behind things, you would be amazed at how some snakes can scale a wall with minimal things to touch or climb on .... If you have cabinets that do not meet the ceiling, look on top of them .... Good luck

Quote:

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Originally Posted by T_Sauer

When you say large rat, I can only assume this is not a small snake, don't forget to look up, and not just under and behind things, you would be amazed at how some snakes can scale a wall with minimal things to touch or climb on .... If you have cabinets that do not meet the ceiling, look on top of them .... Good luck

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A big Amen!

Mine is quite the climber!http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...3ea602e547.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...84cb8264d2.jpg

You can't see the attic door in pics, but it is ajar about 1/2 inch and my snake is desperately struggling trying to get to the opening.
I finally pulled her down in fear of her dropping 8-9 feet to the floor.


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What a stinker! Glad you found her though.

Dan that wasn't the op

I was just adding to T_Sauer's point that these guys can climb high!

So don't forget to look up^^^^^^:)

Very true. Last year I discovered the true need for locks on sliding glass doors. I had my male Burm slide open his cage door and he managed to knock one of my guitars off of the wall (situated fairly high up, and I know he was on top of them, he also broke a light fixture that was next to the guitar, and took a good fall to the floor.)

Where is the cage? On my fourth night of being a no owner (last week lol) my pastel escaped. I panicked and looke everywhere. I looked under my rack and tree she was balled up in the corner. It could have been bad as I have cats.

Check the wood part of your beds, behind washer/dryer, in the closets and if your closet is basically storage like mine, really check hard. Under dressers etc. may have gotten behind fridge or inside couch if there was a hole underneath. I'd even leave a heat pad out with a board of wood or something on top so he has a hotspot that you can find him on


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Whoops! Sorry about that, read the posts the wrong way. Hopefully the missing snake is found.

Hoping op answers back soon

My last one got out and I heard her crawl over an empty bag under the bed or I would have never knew

Nothing yet.. sigh...I'm hoping the commotion of frantic hunting and cleaning, and I was pretty frantic, scared him into hiding. We had a nice quiet day and reisted the urge to riffle around more. I am putting the kids to bed early tonight hopinghe'll decie to prowl around. I'm really pretty worried about him, but he's got a fat rat (he's a 3 yr old 3.5ft BP),a warm heating pad, and fersh water waiting for him. Hopfully comfort will win out.