Missing MBK

Alright guys.... here goes my first colubrid hunt and I gotta say I ain’t stoked cuz I have no idea where I’d find him since I understand him the least of all my noodles but my MBK went missing. If you’ve had your kingsnake or MBK specifically go missing where did you find him? He’s been gone anywhere from 3 days. Not sure. This room is definitely the warmest in the household though.

Sorry to hear it...how big is he??? I once had a very young albino Calif. king snake get loose...I found her within a day, she was inside a boot in my closet, in the
same room her cage was in.

I'm hoping yours is bigger than mine was...but either way, they put us to shame playing "hide & seek". :snake: They don't tend to climb much though, so focus on
things he can crawl into & under.

hi friend! im so sorry to hear about a missing colubrid, as i felt the same when my corn escaped!

read through my post here on how i got my colubrid back. i really hope it helps!!!

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...s-worried-sick

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Sorry to hear it...how big is he??? I once had a very young albino Calif. king snake get loose...I found her within a day, she was inside a boot in my closet, in the
same room her cage was in.

I'm hoping yours is bigger than mine was...but either way, they put us to shame playing "hide & seek". :snake: They don't tend to climb much though, so focus on
things he can crawl into & under.

---

Hey there thanks for your prompt response I’ll start filtering through the tons of stuff ground level to start with but unfortunately he was my second smallest snake I’d say less than 100 grams.. like maybe 100.... he’s a small dude and a fast dude and I feel like I will find him but also don’t all at once cause he easily could have gone through the heating vents. So bummed right now

Do you have any other pets in the house? Especially anything like a pet bird whose scent would attract him???

Loose snakes can & do crawl thru the bars of bird cages, which often doesn't end well. :rolleyes:

Are MBKs good at sensing where the heat is? The rest of this huge house is absolutely not warm enough for the little guy. Gosh I’m worried. He’s the one I check on the least on purpose since he stresses so easy unlike my rest. So he had water for at least a week but I’m pretty positive 3 days ago is when I last saw him. Should probably worry less on here and get to more searching....

Siberian Husky.... not friendly to snakes until I introduced him to most. Never to my MBK didn’t wanna stress the already stress case of a snake more. He learned to be nice but unsupervised I would make no guarantees of a good ending if he came across them. This is the only benefit he has to his small size is I think he would easily have eluded my dog

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timeakinga

Hey there thanks for your prompt response I’ll start filtering through the tons of stuff ground level to start with but unfortunately he was my second smallest snake I’d say less than 100 grams.. like maybe 100.... he’s a small dude and a fast dude and I feel like I will find him but also don’t all at once cause he easily could have gone through the heating vents. So bummed right now

---

I was afraid of that (that he's little). Remember how intimidated they are on the floor...they look for things to crawl into & avoid being out in the open. Before you
start searching in a widening circle from the point of escape, I'd cover those heating vents with fabric (tacked up) so the air goes thru but hopefully not a snake. Check
in & around & under all furniture...snakes go under couch cushions & into the back of dressers (underneath the drawers, or up inside), and any furniture with a faulty
lining underneath is especially "welcoming" to a snake...box springs, upholstered chairs/couches. And of course, CLOSETS. Even behind books in bookshelves... You
may want to seal off the room he escaped in, just in case he's still "local", & start search there. DON'T GIVE UP!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timeakinga

Siberian Husky.... not friendly to snakes until I introduced him to most. Never to my MBK didn’t wanna stress the already stress case of a snake more. He learned to be nice but unsupervised I would make no guarantees of a good ending if he came across them. This is the only benefit he has to his small size is I think he would easily have eluded my dog

---

If you don't have luck on your own, your dog can probably smell his scent...on leash of course, he may help you locate him, but be careful...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timeakinga

Are MBKs good at sensing where the heat is? The rest of this huge house is absolutely not warm enough for the little guy. Gosh I’m worried. He’s the one I check on the least on purpose since he stresses so easy unlike my rest. So he had water for at least a week but I’m pretty positive 3 days ago is when I last saw him. Should probably worry less on here and get to more searching....

---

If he ends up in a chilly room, he'll slow down & brumate someplace. No idea if he'll choose to stay in warmer room or not...& remember floors are cooler anyway.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

If he ends up in a chilly room, he'll slow down & brumate someplace. No idea if he'll choose to stay in warmer room or not...& remember floors are cooler anyway.

---

Very true. My BCI escaped once for just short of 24 hours but I know her so well she turned up in my closet even tho I was 6x as distraught. I’ve unfortunately, or possibly at this moment fortunately been sloppy and left a ton of stuff on my floor this past week so the hiding spots are infinite for him so I hope that gave him reason to stay in my room. And good news I took the heating vent apart and part of it is actually filtered in a way literally no way he could have gone through it so doing the circling outwards from his enclosure as suggested. :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r:ty feeling when you think your keeping is good but this has now happened again within 2 months so time to double check the things I’m doing. Fingers crossed

- - - Updated - - -

Woops bad English it’s A bad feeling when ***

I also blocked off the room as you suggested and I am hopefully he’s still a local! Am I more likely to find him at night? Today was feeding day which is how I even noticed this so I know for a fact he’s hungry

Don't give up, just keep looking..."this too shall pass". The "stuff on your floor" is where I'd start, carefully. Been there, done this...:D Think positive.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timeakinga

Alright guys.... here goes my first colubrid hunt and I gotta say I ain’t stoked cuz I have no idea where I’d find him since I understand him the least of all my noodles but my MBK went missing. If you’ve had your kingsnake or MBK specifically go missing where did you find him? He’s been gone anywhere from 3 days. Not sure. This room is definitely the warmest in the household though.

---

I got one of mine back after 2 weeks if waiting !

All did was put a little plastic tank on its side with the little door open .. left it on the corner of the snake room with a little bowl of water AND a tiny 5W heat pad underneath the tank .

I went in one morning and the little LTR ( Ratsnake) was lying curled up in the tank ( with the little food still open ) .


You could try that and even put a thawed fuzzy mouse in each day

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timeakinga

I also blocked off the room as you suggested and I am hopefully he’s still a local! Am I more likely to find him at night? Today was feeding day which is how I even noticed this so I know for a fact he’s hungry

---

Probably more active at night, glad you blocked off that room, but he might not be in there...some ppl put a little flour on the floor in doorways to see "which way they
went". I've personally never done that though, if I didn't step in it my dogs surely would, & probably eat it too. :rolleyes:

Some ppl try putting an open cage on the floor (as Zincubus just said), & even a container with f/t prey in it, hoping they're drawn to the scent of food. Try anything
& everything until something works.

No luck yet :( but still so much to sift through

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zincubus

I got one of mine back after 2 weeks if waiting !

All did was put a little plastic tank on its side with the little door open .. left it on the corner of the snake room with a little bowl of water AND a tiny 5W heat pad underneath the tank .

I went in one morning and the little LTR ( Ratsnake) was lying curled up in the tank ( with the little food still open ) .


You could try that and even put a thawed fuzzy mouse in each day

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

---

I’m going to spend all night sifting this entire room to the point that I feel that I’ve covered it and then I’m going to resume my normal routine of unblocking the doorway and leaving the frozen fuzzy like you said inside a heated hide by the doorway every single day for at least the next two weeks in hopes of finding him... I have high hopes that he’s still in here but at the same time the odds of him being anywhere at this point is just so questionable. I appreciate everyone’s suggestions. Even tho i was the least attached to him out of all of mine I still miss my lil boy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timeakinga

No luck yet :( but still so much to sift through

---

He's likely a couple days "ahead of you" anyway...if you walk around in that room very much, he's more likely in a closet, because it's quieter...but you never know.

One of my MBKs got out once and was gone for about a month. Found her slithering around on the floor in the same room. I thought the cords to some of my electronics came to life, because she was right next to them and blended right in until I startled her.

So it's possible to find them even if they're gone for quite awhile. Eventually he will get hungry and come out to hunt for food.

Mine came back for either the warmth of the mat or the water ...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Still nothing and this room is pretty much sifted through. I left water out a hide and a meal but no sign of him I do think that this is something that happened days ago and I just noticed late. The heating vents in my room he couldn’t get through but unfortunately the vent across the hall not far at all was taken apart and literally wide open due to remodeling projects, as well as the one downstairs one. Just noticed those this morning so my efforts have slowed down due to kinda feeling it’s just a matter of luck at this point. This whole room smells like mice though so hopefully it will attract him back from wherever he is and i plan to leave meals and hides available daily for the next two weeks just Incase. I will leave out little bowls of water across the house for longer. He’s just so so tiny. Doors to the outside are left open for longer periods of time and that’s out of my control since electricians and all sorts of workers are in and out of here. There’s a million and a half open boxes with things piled in them it would take me weeks to cover everything and he’s probably going to be on the move as I did that. Cried over him but it’s my fault and this could have been much worse with one of my even more loved babies and so I’m gunna let this be a big lesson and make some changes to my keeping. Maybe I’ll be one of those super lucky people with a (happy) update in a few weeks or months. Thanks for all your help though to everyone

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by the_rotten1

One of my MBKs got out once and was gone for about a month. Found her slithering around on the floor in the same room. I thought the cords to some of my electronics came to life, because she was right next to them and blended right in until I startled her.

So it's possible to find them even if they're gone for quite awhile. Eventually he will get hungry and come out to hunt for food.

---

I really hope this is what happens to me. I’m not gunna fill his (revised) enclosure with a new MBK until I’ve given him a month - month and half of a chance to appear. Maybe more. I just know staring at his open enclosure now every single day is gunna make me miss him more but I want it to be open to him if for whatever reason he puts himself away (lmao I realize the odds of this happening are like negative) but of course if he appears even once I’ve filled his spot I’m still going to be elated to see him. It’s crazy how snakes can get out of things... mind boggling how tight of a squeeze they can go through.

I had an escapee king last winter. An 11 gram Texas Graybanded kingsnake who managed to squeeze out of an enclosure that held a corn snake half his size before him (still completely confused how he got out. It was fully and properly closed and everything).

He went missing in early January and no matter how hard we looked we never unearthed him. We gave up on searching being how we found him by end of March. We then found a shed and him in mid-May while doing some random cleaning in another room, he had lost 1 gram of body weight and looked otherwise in great shape for 4 and a half months of no food/water from us.

Even if you fill his enclosure in a while, I'd suggest keeping handy a spare secure tub at the least in case he turns up later like mine did so you have somewhere to secure him.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Really sorry to hear this. My MBK got loose and I found her under an entertainment center about 5 feet from her enclosure. Fortunately I saw her a few minutes after I started looking. Once I saw her it took about ten minutes finally get her. I hope you find your snake!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timeakinga

...Maybe I’ll be one of those super lucky people with a (happy) update in a few weeks or months. Thanks for all your help though to everyone

---

Don't give up! It's can take minutes, hours, days or months to round up an escaped snake...just stay optimistic & ready, because the minute you write them off,
that's when they show up. ;) I assume you've alerted the workmen to keep an eye out for him? You don't want them to panic & kill him, not knowing he's a pet.

In my experience, snakes are often drawn to fresh outside air, so it's possible they will see him. Many years ago I got a young Everglades rat snake from a pet
store (in trade), he had been sold by them many months prior but had escaped his owners & was finally found outside, at which point they didn't feel they were up to keeping a snake at all, & returned him to the store. Great little snake, no trouble for me. :snake:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cletus

Really sorry to hear this. My MBK got loose and I found her under an entertainment center about 5 feet from her enclosure. Fortunately I saw her a few minutes after I started looking. Once I saw her it took about ten minutes finally get her. I hope you find your snake!!

---

Thank you I really hope so too!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Don't give up! It's can take minutes, hours, days or months to round up an escaped snake...just stay optimistic & ready, because the minute you write them off,
that's when they show up. ;) I assume you've alerted the workmen to keep an eye out for him? You don't want them to panic & kill him, not knowing he's a pet.

In my experience, snakes are often drawn to fresh outside air, so it's possible they will see him. Many years ago I got a young Everglades rat snake from a pet
store (in trade), he had been sold by them many months prior but had escaped his owners & was finally found outside, at which point they didn't feel they were up to keeping a snake at all, & returned him to the store. Great little snake, no trouble for me. :snake:

---

Thank you for the positivity I feel like he must have done a visit to the water bowl that I have had out because a surprising amount had disappeared- more than I would think by evaporation. Yea I would hate for that to happen. By the possible sign of water being drank I still hope he’s in here and that he remains in here. Don’t know tho I guess time will tell! Hahhha I’m glad he’s not giving you a hard time, he probably knows he’s got it good with you! And I’m sure you got him secured well!

Oh yeah...after playing "hide & seek" a few times with snakes, you get REALLY careful. It's so stressful & exhausting, & talk about guilt trips...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Oh yeah...after playing "hide & seek" a few times with snakes, you get REALLY careful. It's so stressful & exhausting, & talk about guilt trips...

---

I can completely agree with that I’ve already become much more careful myself after this round. I can’t imagine doing this again! Exactly for the reasons you say. Since then I’ve tried 3am flashlight exploring in hopes of catching him active. Here’s a little example of my lures, please feel free to tell me if it should be better somehow, the hide is heated. There is stuff in the hide too that I know he usually likes to hide under. Should I have these hides move around or have them in set places without switching it up? https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...4ad554c43.jpeg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timeakinga

I can completely agree with that I’ve already become much more careful myself after this round. I can’t imagine doing this again! Exactly for the reasons you say. Since then I’ve tried 3am flashlight exploring in hopes of catching him active. Here’s a little example of my lures, please feel free to tell me if it should be better somehow, the hide is heated. There is stuff in the hide too that I know he usually likes to hide under. Should I have these hides move around or have them in set places without switching it up? https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...4ad554c43.jpeg

---

i was a panicked mess so i constantly moved my "traps" which likely didn't help.

keep them where they are and stay diligent.

in my thread i posted above, i iterated that i was willingly to waste every f/t feeder i had keeping the "traps" up until my corn was found.

also try going around wafting the feeder into all corners of the room(s). get that smell around so they have a reason to come out and search for the traps.

Never know what might work...just keep trying, he's there some place. I agree w/ above, leave the hides as placed.

I’d persist with providing heat and freshened water and maybe the occasional thawed mouse ...

I had success with just leaving a plastic viv / tank on its side so it was easy to slide into and it still felt secure when it was sleeping .. it was just there one morning ..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro