I lost my BP! :(

Hey guys, sorry to make another "I lost my snake thread".

I was holding my baby bp on thursday night. I put her back in her cage as usual. I didn't come home until today around 4:00. I went to hold her for a little bit but to my shock she wasn't in her cage :( I keep her in a 40 gallon tank with a screen lid. Usually I put a book on the top, but I am in the process of switching rooms and forgot to put it on.

I stripped my entire room and most of the other room tonight trying to find her. I am in a 3 bedroom basement. My bedroom, which is pretty small, a larger room with a lot of boxes and furniture, and another work room with concrete floors.

I was reading other posts and was readint that snakes don't like cold on their bellies so i don't think she would of gone in the work room. I also don't think she would go up the stairs because all of the floors up there are wood, so that would also be cold.

In a few of the other topics, I read something about putting a dead mouse in a container in the room somewhere. How long should I keep this mouse out before it will start to rot? Also, should I place the mouse on a heatpad?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
David

When my spotted python got loose, he went straight for the radiator. I had to coax him out slowly because he was coiled in it. Your BP would most likely be in a crack, crevice, hole, etc. Anything that it has trouble squeezing into makes it a more addictive place to hide.

Look for warm places such as a radiator, a computer tower, a tv or vcr player....anything that puts out heat might attract her. Also, when you're searching....if you came across any container, crack, crevice, or opening that you thought "Nah...she couldn't fit through/in there"...then check there! We simply can't conceive of what narrow, tight openings they can and will happily put themselves into.

I wouldn't rule any place out after over 24 hours of being missing. Think like a snake, snakes like to feel secure, so it probably stuck to a wall for most of the trip, try walking the perimeter of every room, they like to jam up behind stuff like chairs, couches, entertainment systems, boxes etc.

You should also get clamps for the top of that cage, something other than just a book, a snake will capitalize on anything even a book placed only on one side of the top or niether side at all.

wildlifewarrior

Take a dead mouse and run it along your baseboards. Then you take a small container w/ a small hole cut in the lid ( just enough for your snake to fit through and put the mouse in it. Leave the container near the baseboard. Your soon to be hungry snake should follow the scent and gladly grab it's meal in this cozy little hideout. Hope this helps.


jwjjj

Thanks for the tips guys. I will try the mouse trick later and I will update you if I find it.

-David

ah this sucks. when i lost my two of my snakes at once... it sucked big time! one was found in the basement (cement floor) but the cat may have taken it down there. the other was found under our 90 gallon salt water tank. now if i can give you an idea of how small that space is... we have a piece of plexiglass which we use for doors in bearded dragon enclosures and that barely fit under this tank!!!

i've also heard of putting some flour on the floor to find track marks in the morning.

from watching my balls behaviour - he likes to burrow. when i take him outside he's trying to get underneath stuff all the time. under plants, under rocks... under under under. whereas my boas are attempting to go up up up!

so keep that in mind as you are looking and i wish you the best of luck. i understand how you feel right now :( please keep us updated!

Im sorry to hear this has happened to you. Check all around the emmidiate areas of your tank. My Snakey got out back when he was younger and was on a nearby bookshelf, lol. And if you stil cannot find him put a cage with live mouse on the ground and your snake should be interested in them. When I bred rats I kept them in these small cages (not tanks) and the snakes could really smell them. So I got a couple live feeder mice and stuck them in a spare cage and put them on the floor of the snake room(remember to shut your door) So your snake should also be attracted to the cage of food. This works, but make sure the bar spacing is just right so your snake doesnt get bitten by the mice, or tries to go inside them (DO NOT USE RATS). And so you snake does not try and forces his way into the cage put some cloths and towels around the cage(so the snake can hide in) and put one of his hides on the ground. Good luck!

I have lost many a snake but fortunately they were wherever I thought they would be.

Some places my snakes have turned up....
In the drawer of my saltwater tank, on top of the movies that are on the bottom of the bookcase - where it's really dark, under my fridge, inside the dishwasher, in between the dishwasher and the counter (I never thought Loki could make it in there, and you can't comprehend how tiny that space is until you see a snake there!).
I've also found Loki basking on a window ledge in bright daylight, and hanging out on my bowflex...at the very top where everyone could see him.

Luckily, I've never had to leave a mouse out, or sprinkle flour, but I've heard that they work very well on the more shy snakes.
Good luck in your search! :)

i lost my snake for 3 weeks. pretty sure you can find the thread on it. it was quite a few pages long too. i striped my whole entire 2 story house down. turns out, 3 weeks later, my little brother found him in his room trying to get into a tank filled with mice. hang in there, he's close by im sure.

your shoes. check your shoes. they are always in your shoes.

found mine in my snowboard boots in the closet under some blankets.

best of luck.

you might find him on/inside/under:

a laundry basket, stereo recievers, box springs, pile of electrical cords from a surge protector (they can get warm when bunched together), under fridge, tv's, vcr's, dvd players, etc...

i've set my snake free in my room and 90% of the time he ends up under my computer tower (it's only got like a half an inch clearance under it, but it sure is nice and warm)

so if he gets out i know where i'm looking first.

good luck finding your snake... oh and if you start going crazy, look under cushions on your couch, in/behind suitcases, etc...

my friend actually found his inside his computer speaker. he was watching a dvd on his computer, and i guess the vibration from the speaker was not very pleasent for the snake and his snake shot out of the port on the side of the speaker. he said he died laughing.

good luck, and i'm sure your snake will be fine. you're pulling out your hair, and your snake is on a vacation :sunny:

I once found my baby BP wedged into the back side of a desk drawer.. we had to pull her out and her scales were damaged for 3weeks.

Well I have ripped apart my room. Pretty much covered every spot I can think of in my other room. I don't think it is in the third room because it has concrete floors with saw dust on the ground, so I think I would see some sort of trail. I don't think it would go upstairs because they are wooden floors and there would be 3 cats up there waiting for him.

I've read a little bit about this live mouse in a coke bottle trick. How exactly do I do this? My friend that works at a place where snakes get out all of the time also reccommended this to me.

There is a little door in my room that leads into the crawl space. My worst fear is that it fit through that crack and is outside somewhere :(

heh my first BP I had a long LONG time ago...Managed to get between the mirror and the wall it was mounted to in one of the bathrooms. There was just enough room for him to fit is skull through so I guess he figured he could fit. :rolleyes:

:taz: try checking under the fridge, sofa cushions, bathroom washer/ Dryer . Wait untill night time and along with a hide box with or without food, put a heating pad under a towel (folded over so it wont get too hot) in the corner of a room. then set your a/c to about 70 degrees.

The coke bottle method works as follows; get a clean plastic 2 liter soda bottle (obviously only works for small snakes) and the appropriate rodent. Cut the top quarter of the bottle off, throw in your feeder and then tape the top of the bottle back on backwards. You want the neck of the bottle to actually be inverted into the rest of the bottle. Tape it up where the edges meet. Just be VERY careful with the tape, make sure that no sticky parts are exposed! You might also try wrapping the bottle in dark paper or fabric to give it that safe hide effect. And you could also try putting a heat source close to it.

The bottle method works on the premise that the snake can easily get inside the bottle, but will not be able to find its way back out. That and your snake could also be too chubby with a full belly to get back out. ;)

Good luck!

Thanks for explaing that to me VroomVroom. I have one more question though. Would you suggest a dead or a live mouse?

Its very upsetting not knowing where my snake is this past week. I hope I find him soon.

No problem Zreon! Glad to help. As for live or dead, I'll leave that to the experts. I feed my Sinai live, but I suppervise his feedings. Leaving a live food item without you there for intervention is a bit risky. Maybe a moderater will have a good suggestion?

Still no sign of Monty :( I know its only been 12 days, but that feels like forever. I have a hide with a heat pad out, and also a water dish. It doesn't seem like he has been going to his water dish at all. How long can he go without a supply of water?

I have stripped the basement from top to bottom but there is no indication of him anywhere. I wouldn't know where to begin upstairs because there is just too much to cover up there.

I have also tried the dead mouse in a coke bottle and as far as I know nothing happened with that. Is there a way to do this with a live mouse? I feel that live bait would be more successful in getting the little guy out. Its been 3 weeks since he has eaten so I am sure he is a little bit hungry.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zreon

I have also tried the dead mouse in a coke bottle and as far as I know nothing happened with that. Is there a way to do this with a live mouse? I feel that live bait would be more successful in getting the little guy out. Its been 3 weeks since he has eaten so I am sure he is a little bit hungry.

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Maybe you could rig something up with the same coke-bottle setup....but put a little screened "trap door" over the opening that will only open when pushed from the outside. So the snake can get in, but neither the mouse nor the snake can get out. It would have to be some sort of screen material to let the mouse scent waft out...

Now, how well that could actually be pulled off, I'm not sure. You might have to prepare yourself to deal with an escaped mouse, too.

I'm really sorry you haven't found your snake. I hope he turns up soon! :hug:

man, that sucks. Everytime I lose somehing I pray and then, wow, I find it! I really hope you find it so you don't end up singing with BONO, " I still haven't found what I'm looking for."

no sign yet?

this sucks... i'm sad for you both :(

when my husband lost his first bp he did the same with a live mouse and she came out with in the week.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sapphire7

Im sorry to hear this has happened to you. Check all around the emmidiate areas of your tank. My Snakey got out back when he was younger and was on a nearby bookshelf, lol. And if you stil cannot find him put a cage with live mouse on the ground and your snake should be interested in them. When I bred rats I kept them in these small cages (not tanks) and the snakes could really smell them. So I got a couple live feeder mice and stuck them in a spare cage and put them on the floor of the snake room(remember to shut your door) So your snake should also be attracted to the cage of food. This works, but make sure the bar spacing is just right so your snake doesnt get bitten by the mice, or tries to go inside them (DO NOT USE RATS). And so you snake does not try and forces his way into the cage put some cloths and towels around the cage(so the snake can hide in) and put one of his hides on the ground. Good luck!

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Well I have had a live mouse out for 4 nights now with no luck. Should I move the mouse to different parts of the house every couple of nights. The room I thought he might of been in is completely empty right now because we are putting new carpet in. I have the feeling he is in the floors, upstairs or in the crawl space AKA outside :(

I don't feel like I can do a whole lot more right now. At night it is getting in the 60's now, so if he is outside he is probably tucked away somewhere warm and doesn't come out anyways.

Its really sad that my first snake is lost 2 months after I bought him :(

The few times I had escapees I found them in the closet (which is very chilly mind you) wedged between books in a box (they had good taste I might add).

Good luck.

Well today is has been 35 days since Monty god out with no signs at all from him. I have had a pet mouse for about 2 weeks now.


I really want my snake back, but I am contemplating buying another snake.

There is nothing else I can do that I know of. I have tried flour, mouse in a bottle, bags along the walls, sitting there listening for anything, and now a mouse that has been moved throughout the house for the past 2 weeks.

I really thought that the live mouse would work, but I am beginning to think that he got outside and is long gone.

man there are countless stories about someone's snake getting out and months later he just appears out of no where. Don't give up just yet.

If you are certain you want a new snake then there is the F.I.R.Expo comin up in a few weeks. I'll be glad to meet you and make sure your new and improved escape proof enclosure will be OK :) :rockon:

Thanks Nathan. When is this F.I.R. Expo happening? I might just have to check that out. Will they have just plain ball pythons there? I don't want anything expensive or rare, just a plain old cheap ball python :)

As for an escape proof encolsure, I already have that thought through. I will be making a new lid and I already have a few clips to hold it down. I didn't realize that when I movied his cage, that the top corner of the old lid cracked, so that is how he excaped in the first place.

yeah you'll find some good normals there, they're usually about 15-50 bucks at a reptile show.
http://www.worldherpexpo.com/fire_home.htm

Sorry to hear that you haven't found him. Never give up though, I know stories of snakes that have been found months upon months later.

Good luck with your future critters.

Did you ever find him?
We lost our 2-year-old BP once and literally 6 months later I walked outside to the back porch and she was curled-up on the concrete getting warm! It really is crazy how that works out. :)
I'm going nuts because I got you beat - we just got a new baby ball and my hubby took it out, had it around his neck and never felt it slither off!! After a week of having a snake it's gone! Still searching, it's been about 48 hours.

I sure hope you find your snake, and I feel for you. I posted a thread last night about losing my BP over the weeend, but I found her this morning on the top shelf of my daughter's closet. I had placed a large FT rat near a fan to scent the house. Do not know if that helped but she was "exposed" this morning looking out over the room as if she was waiting to be fed.

One last thing you can try (I'm considering this for a girl of mine that just got out a few days ago and hasn't turned up)

I looked online and found a guy who does energy diagnostics for homes using infra red cameras. I asked him what he would charge to come over and scan my house with his infra red to find her and he said $70.

I really want this little girl back as she's a wild normal captive hatched with a super clear belly like a co-dom. I want to breed her in a couple seasons so I'm going to exhaust all resources :)

Jim