kenyan sand boa missing!!!

oh man, i was just feeding all the snakes and i can't find sandy, my sand boa anywhere!!! she's about 6" long and lived in a 10 gallon tank with the wire mesh lid. i had stuff on top to keep it down but when i went to feed there was nothing on it... so i must have forgotten to return the heavy stuff on top :(

this little girl has never even given me the remotest inclination that she could climb!

so... i've searched everywhere... any suggestions?

i suspect she's wedged under the 90 gallon salt tank or the 77 gallon oscar tank.

oh man this soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sucks. :(

I'm assuming you've sifted through the substrate very thoroughly to make sure she's not just buried in there somewhere?


Is there any way to look under that big fish tank? I can't even imagine how small a space a 6" snake could squeeze herself into. :(

I would start by looking everywhere immediately around her own tank...and then gradually increasing the circle of my search. How long might she have been on the loose?

Wish I could be more help!

it's aspen and i've sifted it three times. my hubby is on his way home and i'll have him sift it again!

i'm going to have him look around cause you know how someone can see what you miss when you are looking for something? i'm really hoping he'll find her.

i'm so mad at myself...

Is there anything in her cage she can climb on? Sand boas are sucky climbers.. there's almost no way she could get up very high, unless she had something perfect to climb on.

Are there any gaps anywhere in the cage? Are you SURE she's not in the substrate? They are excellent at hiding..

When my sand boa got out (only escape I have had) he only went about two feet away, was hiding under the curtains. Sand boas aren't terribly active, so look around the immediate proximity.

Are you sure no other family members had her out or anything?

You could try picking up a handful of the substrate, sift through it, and put it in a garbage bag, and repeat that until all of the substrate's in the bag. Then you would be SURE he wasn't burrowed. :D

i've removed the substrate into another container three times.

there is nothing in her tank for her to climb on which is why i didn't have straps on her tank... i didn't think she could really get out!

my living room is filled with fish tanks (big fish tanks) and shelves to hold snakes... so my hubby is going to move the shelving unit so we can look behind it.

i'm so freaked out... i hope i find her. please..... please..... i wanna find her :(

The sand boa at the store I worked at ended up being in the cornor (sp) of the tank in a coil no bigger than a quarter. we thought it too had escaped. we closed the whole store for 2 hours looking for it. I had a hard enough time looking for a sand boa in sand. Aspin to me would seem a little harder.

Try Jason's Idea. That should work very well.

I know this sounds nuts but did you look in the edge/lip of the lid of the tank. Emi once stuffed herself up there somehow but considering her brillian albino coloring she was easy to spot. I couldn't believe that a snake even a small one could smoosh up in the lip edge but she managed it. Hey it's amazing what can hide in bedding! Rauri the BCI at over 6 feet could hide in his bedding so well he gave me more than one heart attack moment. I sure hope you find Sandy soon Aleesha...I know you must be beside yourself with worry!

i am. we just took her tank apart again... looking everywhere. we are just amazed cause her lid was in place... which makes this ever so much more confusing...

we've looked under the lid. she had a little piece of wood which looks like a nest... we've looked in every crevice of it as well.

we've taken apart shelves. we've looked under the fish tanks (as best as we can) we've used a flashlight to look in all the grates of the gas fireplace.

turned chairs over. taken pillows apart.

i'm going to start crying... i have to go hunt - i need clear eyes to search more. :(

i'm lost - i've spent an hour and a half searching and can't find her. i'm going to take a break and search some more :( please send your "find her" prayers my way...

One sent your way love, and a big hug too. I hope you find her soon.
:hug:

You got it. How many prayers you want? Good luck!

as many as it takes to get her safe in her tank again. (she is my avatar)

i've set out some tp rolls and hides around the house... hoping she'll find one and climb in for safety. i'll check them every few hours everyday till i find her!

i so appreciate everyone's quick responses... thank you thank you thank you!

:grouphug:

my normal cornsnake hatchling is missing as well. i can't believe this. i was sure i saw her when i put her pinkie into her viv... i was so upset about sandy missing (sand boa) that i just popped dinner in everyone's vivs so i could get to looking around for the MIA snake...

so a little while ago i went to check if everyone ate and annie hadn't eaten (normal corn) so i was rewarming it and getting her little container ready to attempt to get her to eat... and my hubby couldn't find her anywhere in her viv. as we began to search - we found fresh snake poo on my desk! i'm pretty sure it's the corns because it's up so high (top of bookshelf on desk) and i can't imagine sandy (sand boa) being able to climb that high.

we've just removed everything off my desk. dumped all the files, file cabinet, recycle bins... everything. we didn't find either snake.

this day has gone from bad to worse. i don't know how my corn got out? i must not have closed her viv right in my panic to find sandy.

i feel like crap.

Leave a couple warm pinkies out for a while to see if they find them. Since it is feeding day they might go right for them! Good Luck!

i JUST got my corn to eat for the first time last week. i can't imagine she'll live long if i don't find her quickly. she was born may 15th and i bought her june 15th... poor thing :(

my sand boa pretty much has to hit into the food to eat it. she never finds her food if i just put it in her viv... which is why i noticed her gone so quickly cause i was looking for her in the substrate so i could clear it away and feed her.

how long can young small snakes go without food?

Good luck finding your snakes. Mine had curled up under a book. Such small spots make good hiding.

looks at bookshelves (the ones that hold books not snakes or tarantulas)

off i go to search some more! thanks!!!

gee, i hope neither one of them squeezed under the fish tanks. that would totally SUCK. good luck finding them.

i'm cool with them squishing themselves under... as long as they come out!

if they are under the 90 gallon salt tank... well, unfortunately unless they come out we can't get them out. to take down a salt tank - we'd probably loose most of our inhabitants. it's not like a freshwater tank cause you have to make up the water etc. and it would be very unfair to the salt critters.

we tried to see under the tanks (as there's a little tiny space between the hardwood floors and the stand) but we didn't see any snakes.

i've put down tp rolls and egg crate material in case either of the snakes want to hide in them. i'm hoping for a present in the morning!

i know many of you must think i'm terribly irresponsible - but honest, i'm not. i try to provide the best possible care and escape proof enclosures... (obviously i failed - but i did try) - i care so much about both of these little babies... i just hope they survive the cats and our new kitten and are found soon.

I'm so sorry you've lost another.. keep looking!

If you have hard floors you can try sprinkling flour or something similar on the floor, and wait for 'snake tracks' to appear. Just follow them where they lead, and you've got a snake.

Restrict your cats to a single room like a bedroom for a couple of days if you can Aleesha. If I was a baby snake I'd never come out with predatory cats prowling around.

well i did a huge check again this morning... and nothing.

i've put more hides out... hoping...

well lock the kitten downstairs for a couple of days and hope neither of the snakes are down there!

I wish there were something more we could do besides offering hopes and well-wishes. But you do have those in abundance! :hug:

if i didn't feel like such a looser... that would probably help. my hubby is upset with me cause i'm upset and blaming myself - but i see it as being upset and taking responsibility cause i AM the primary and only caregiver of the snakes and they are gone... so it IS my fault. period. quite simple really.

my focus now... is to find them.

how long can they live without food? any ideas? the corn is a hatchling. only eaten once since around the 7th of june (hatched may 15) (ate july 5th)

and the sand boa is a bit older but still very small. we got her apr 15th and has eaten almost every week since then (except one week when she was heavy in shed)

jo came up with a great idea today. i've thawed a pinkie and placed it on a heating pad with a hide, down in a corner near the snake enclosures (and a few feet away from my desk where we found the snake poo)

our hope is that the heating pad will keep the pinkie warm AND will create a nice cozy spot for the snake to cuddle up.

ya it's warmer than i would like a snake to have... but i don't think it'll cause any damage over the few hours the snake could be on it (as i'll keep checking the hide during the evening until i go to bed.

so hopefully i'll have a snake or two in that hide in the morning!!!

thanks jo!!! :carrot:

Hope it works Aleesha. It's not my original idea, I read it ages ago but can't remember where. I hope it works. It can't hurt to try and see if it could lure them in. Make sure the cats are locked away. They'll steal that pinkie and scare the little snakes.

the cats are locked downstairs and the pinkie is in place... fingers crossed ;)

I hope you get them in the morning! I know how it feels to loose a snake.

-Andre

All my crossable bits are crossed for you Aleesha. Come on home little snakes!

just tore the house apart again... found nothing. i'll look again in the morning... i sure hope my 'trap' catches one! (or better yet... both!!!)

:hug: Oh, geez, I hope you find them soon too! It does help to try and calm down... I know it's not easy, but the calmer you are the more clearly you can think and notice little clues... My fingers are all crossed for the little guys!! :grouphug:

i'm calm not. actually jo really calmed me down a lot - just letting me know i'm not a complete tool!

Well Aleesha I just don't see the point of you beating yourself up over this (and I know you are). You're a very caring owner obviously and very upset by this dual escape. Any of us could have an escape happen. I think the odds go up a lot when you have these tiny snakes in your collection. I know I worried endlessly about Emi the milksnake when Beth first got her and still check her tank more than any other snake in the house. Hugs to you. I know you are upset with yourself and frantic with worry but just keep looking and hopefully you will find both of them soon.

still no sign of them... i'm really hoping they do show up...

"hang in there little ones... i'm here wanting to feed you up!"

it's amazing how much you miss them... doesn't matter how many pets you have... when one (or in this case two) of them are missing... you 'feel' it!

just found our cornsnake. her head and tail were chewed up pretty bad and her head looked squished as well so i'm not sure if the cats got her first or someone stepped on her head and then the cats got her.

:(

soooo sad - i sure hope we have a better outcome with the sand boa.

Awww that sucks, Aleesha. :hug: I do hope things turn out much better for the little boa!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

just found our cornsnake. her head and tail were chewed up pretty bad and her head looked squished as well so i'm not sure if the cats got her first or someone stepped on her head and then the cats got her.

:(

soooo sad - i sure hope we have a better outcome with the sand boa.

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That just sucks Aleesha..Sorry to hear...

Did the corn snake make it or did you lose him ??

good luck on finding the Sand boa.

oh no, it was dead. pretty much no head left so even if it was alive... i would have had to assist it (which thankfully i didn't have to do) it hadn't been dead long though... minutes perhaps.

thanks everyone... i sure hope we find our sand boa... *fingers crossed* but i'm prepared for the worst.

right now at this moment my beautiful sweet little kenyan sand boa is wolfing down two pinkies! oh ya baby... my cat found him for me!

after i took the dead cornsnake from her she ran upstairs and started sniffing around the 90 gallon salt water tank. i thought... oh is that where you found the cornsnake?

so about 30 minutes ago my hubby and i finally found something (a long strip of plexiglass) which fit under the tank (such a small space) and honestly i figured the little corn hatchling could fit but the kenyan sand boa wouldn't... but... low and behold who gets pushed out by the plexi... yup, my boa!!!!

i quickly defrosted two pinks while my hubby gave him a nice big drink of water and now he's in his reg. 5 gallon tank WITH a strap on it so no more escaping allowed!

;) isn't this just the best news you've heard today from me!!!!

I've been on pins and needles keeping up with this thread, and I am *thrilled* for you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

right now at this moment my beautiful sweet little kenyan sand boa is wolfing down two pinkies! oh ya baby... my cat found him for me!

after i took the dead cornsnake from her she ran upstairs and started sniffing around the 90 gallon salt water tank. i thought... oh is that where you found the cornsnake?

so about 30 minutes ago my hubby and i finally found something (a long strip of plexiglass) which fit under the tank (such a small space) and honestly i figured the little corn hatchling could fit but the kenyan sand boa wouldn't... but... low and behold who gets pushed out by the plexi... yup, my boa!!!!

i quickly defrosted two pinks while my hubby gave him a nice big drink of water and now he's in his reg. 5 gallon tank WITH a strap on it so no more escaping allowed!

;) isn't this just the best news you've heard today from me!!!!

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Glad to see some good news has followed up the bad! Congrats on finding him!

i just keep sitting here, thanking the goddess for assisting us to find him (via our cat). i am sooooo thankful!

now, i can allow myself to 'feel' and grieve for my little annie... and celebrate my happy news at the same time (makes it so much easier to grieve when you have such great news at the same time!)

i moved my snow corn - sevasti, into a new enclosure with is more secure... and because of the fact that sooo much has happened we've really looked closely at everyone's vivs and made changes where appropriate.

thank you everyone for being so supportive... i can't believe how horrible it is, how frustrating it is and how un-empowered you feel.

such a little tiny snake in such a huge house. (times two!)

okay i'm done going on and on and on LOL

I am sorry about your loss. :(


However, I am so glad to hear the good news and just last night my charcoal hatchling turned up unharmed as well.. Good news all around.:)

oh now THAT is good news!!!!!! 2 out of 3 ain't bad! - a heck of a lot better than 0 out of 3!

Oh Aleesha, I'm so glad you were able to find him! :hug: I've been hoping he'd turn up for you, safe and sound.

So glad you found him.. it's a bummer worrying about them.

Oh, yes, you found the little guy! I'm so sorry for your corn, but thank goodness it wasn't both of them! Whew... What a relief!