Just... what are the odds?

So I was planning on posting an updated post of all my ball pythons since it has been a couple years (oops) since I posted here last. I was just waiting for my new arrivals to finish their quarantine so I could get some good pictures of them as well and have one big, happy post about how my collection has grown.

Unfortunately it looks like my Pied het Albino female (aka Dislike) is currently MIA, and I'm not at all optimistic about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

So background: We recently moved to Alaska from Florida. Had to ship all my snakes from my parent's house in Arkansas and had to leave behind my old rack. Built a new rack after arriving here, got them set up, and within the 2 months they were here I had no escapes. Fast Forward...

Sunday Night: Feeding night, Dislike takes down 1 Small F/T Rat.
Monday Morning: Dislike is curled up in her hide.
Rest of Monday: Household goods are delivered. From 0900-1700 we have 3 movers unpacking 2 trucks. The front door is open most of the day. The last thing completed was putting the futon together, which was located in the spare bedroom where the snake rack is. 2 of the men did this unsupervised. After they leave we run errands and grab dinner, don't get home until late and go to bed.
Tuesday Morning: Dislike's tote is found empty.

Spent all of Tuesday moving boxes and checking every inch of the house, even checked the other totes on the rack to make sure she didn't shack up with one of the others. No sign of her. Put flour lines in all the entrances and across the rooms yesterday evening with no signs today. I plan to get a mouse and a critter keeper today to try and entice her out, but she has been a finicky eater and typically only eats about twice a month. Not sure if she'll be interested but I'm trying everything I can think of.

I just... this whole thing seems sketchy to me. What are the chances that there are ZERO incidents with this rack that she should just happen to get out the day the movers are here? The day after she's eaten even? She is my shy girl, I hardly ever see her moving as it is, let alone with a small rat in her belly. Luckily we have heated floors so I'm not too worried about her getting too cold (highs are only about mid 40s here) if she is in the house but.. ugh. I'm so freaked out that one of those guys took her. I contacted the moving company and explained the situation to them and they said they would ask their guys if they saw anything, but if one of them grabbed her I highly doubt they would say anything. Even posted on the local lost and found pet facebook page for anchorage in case someone sees her put up for sale.

I seriously hope I'm freaking out over nothing and she just pops up somewhere. I just want her safely back in her home!

http://i.imgur.com/q4YzqUpl.jpg

I would call and get a complaint on record.
Just seems too odd.

Tuesday when you discovered her missing, was her tub open? Or do you not remember? Because I've never had an escape close the tub back behind it.
I would highly suspect one of the moving people stole her. I would push it with them.
I'm so sorry to hear this! How terrible :(

I'm assuming it's a slide out tub rack?

Yes it's a slide in tub rack and I don't remember to tub being out of line or anything out of the ordinary when I did my morning check.

I called the company Tuesday afternoon as soon as it occured to me that theft was an option, but even if I don't find her I doubt there is anything they can or will do. The guy won't come forward I'm sure and I have no proof that she was taken.

Seems extremely sketchy. Especially if the tub was closed. I would definitely be making a visit to the company and putting in a formal complaint, and perhaps contacting my local police department. It's theft regardless of what was taken.

I hope you find your girl! I'd be scouring craigslist as well as the lost and found Facebook. Keep us updated :)

That freaking SUCKS!! So sorry! :(
I'd definitely suspect the moving guys too, in this case, but no idea how to find out or prove it.

That's awful! I hope you get her back. Hopefully somebody looked to see what was in the tub and let her out by mistake and she's nearby. (fingers crossed)

You might want to mention something at any nearby store that sells feeders and spread the word, just in case. And maybe get a police report just in case someone should see her with someone else.

Yeah I never got a follow up from the guy I contacted yesterday, so I'll call him again tomorrow and see if he has any news. Got caught up unpacking and cleaning today with periodic checks on all the flour lines. Unfortunately I don't know when would be the right time to even file a police report. It's so hard to prove anything with a situation like this, as the moving guys can just as easily claim that the snake could have escaped on it's own. Maybe even made its way outside since the doors were open the whole time they were unpacking the truck. I highly doubt she would willingly go out into 40 degree weather though? And it's only been a couple days, I know actually finding a loose snake can take a while so I definitely don't want to jump the gun and make legal accusations that may be unnecessary.

There aren't many pet stores here that would accept a ball python, but there is one I know of that I will contact tonight just to let them know in case someone brings her in. I've already checked craigslist and the online classifieds but nothing has come up as of yet.

Gonna head out to get a mouse now. If she's here, maybe it will be enough to lure her out :please:

Well, I had a problem with a neighbor that liked to steal our chickens last year we have pictures of all the chickens and ducks for records and the police retrieved them for us so the upside is if you have lots of photos of your snake and since they are all kinda unique in a way as far as patterns the police will hopefully retrieve your snake if one of the movers stole her.

https://i.imgur.com/Dv9CIvBh.jpg

Traps set. Here's hoping I have a mess tomorrow!

Its possible. However majority of people would freak out at the sign of a snake. Whats the likelyhood of a mover in alaska who isnt terrified of snakesblikebthengeneral public who is a snake person who recognizes a high end morph and is able and willing to steal it and risk getting caught.

Its possible. I bet hes still in the house. Get the rat wet and use a hair drier try and fill up the room with stink.


Good luck!

I would suspect theft. Make a report.

Well no signs this morning. Hoping to get some of those boxes moved out so maybe I'll uncover her or at least give her less hiding places.

And I don't think it's so much as someone was snake savvy enough to know how valuable she was. It easily could have been someone who doesn't mind snakes and saw a pretty unique one that would be easy to grab. Even people who hate snakes are impressed when I show them my pieds.

I heard back from the supervisor and of course nobody admitted to taking her. He said he would check the cameras at the wareouse and see if he notices anything. I'll be stopping by all the pet stores and giving them a picture of her in case she makes her way in and filing a report at the police station.

Good luck! Keep an eye on Craig's List as well. Not just for resale but sometimes because people actually post found snakes when they are savy enough to know they are escaped pets.

So apparently the odds were pretty good!

I have no idea how she got out or why she decided to wait, but we found her today! Turned out my husband left the vent hose unplugged from the dryer when he was trying to hook it up and get it running this past weekend. I didn't even realize it had been unplugged, but thank goodness I thought to tell him to look when he was messing with it today.

So she was pretty well crammed in there and I tried to be gentle pulling her out but he had tested the dryer a couple times and I was panicking that she was dead. Thankfully he only did a couple seconds to test it. Looks like there is some bruising and scraped scales, but she is moving around fine in her tote, probably trying to houdini her way out again.

There's just enough room to put the tote lid on and still slide in the rack, so if she gets out again I'm going to start suspecting black magic.

http://i.imgur.com/SDQutIa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/7hQPqcu.jpg

I ended up spending the day unpacking hoping I would uncover her so I had decided I would make the report tomorrow if she wasn't found by then. So glad this is all over and it wasn't theft. I contacted the moving company and let them know she was found.

Glad you found her!

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Awesome! I would be looking every inch of the house if Sammy escaped.:rofl:

Glad to see you got her back!

So glad you found her, and that she's relatively unharmed by her adventure!

Been following. Glad you found her. Must be a horrible feeling when snake is missing from enclosure. Also an extremely good feeling when you discover them.

I'm glad you found her! :)

Glad she made it back safe mostly unscathed. I would also call the company and update them.

My rufous are little escape artists and because they're so quick, man I had fun trapping one in the bedroom one day.

Yay! So glad she's safe!!

Following since you posted. I was sure that she was stolen based on your details. So glad to hear that you found her!

Super happy you found her!!

So glad you found her!