Zim is Missing!

I haven't really done anything with the snake for about two weeks. I was super busy this week and the week before and I went to feed him today. He has three hides and about .5 inch to an inch of dirt in his tank. I've checked every single hide and even sifted through the dirt. The snake is nowhere to be found! He's not a small snake, so finding him in a 20g tank isn't hard. The cage has been closed for two weeks straight, with no one going in or out (at least to my knowledge). There are two cage clips holding the top down. I've just removed everything from the cage and he's not in it.

What should I do. I have a very large room that has access to two other rooms. (there is space under the doors) If my grandmother finds out the snake is missing, it'll be my head. LITERALLY. She hates snakes, and the only reason she let me keep this one was because it stayed in the cage. Now its missing. I have two cats as well, but they have not alerted me to the presense of the snake. What should I do? I'm about to take a flashlight and scan the room. He could have gotten out at any time during the past two weeks.

it sounds like he escaped the last time you were in the tank.

i would do the usual... toss the room completely... look under everything and i would definitely let your grama know the snake is out cause if it shows up on her bed or something she may have a heart attack!

I've been checking all the dark places, and I'm about to move the couch (if I can by myself) and check under my mini fridge. The thing is, I have two cats and they've always been interested in Zim, so now I'm afraid they may have gotten to him.

I don't know how he could have gotten out. The clips were on the cage and at the girth he is (not much but definatly too big to slip out under the lid) could not have gotten out under the lid. I tested the screen and there are no holes or rips that I can see.

they can move fast... he might have slipped out while you were changing his water!

be sure to look inside the couch...

I'm in the process of checking around the computer. Zim is very quick but he's the kind of snake that sometimes won't move if you nudge him, so I'm poking around into everything. I'm checking the drawers right now. I saw on the Loose Snakes thread that someone had found one of thier snakes in a drawer.

Ok, he is officially nowhere near the computer.

not under it where it's warm?

Nope, my monitor sits up on the desk, and has nowhere for him to hide. The tower has no space under it for him to go. I even have a clear side to it, and I checked the internal part to see if he was inside. No snake. There is also no sign of him near the first bookcase or excersize machine. Not near the cat tree either.

Seriously, look in places where you specifically think he wouldn't be able to get into. Thats the type of place they like to be in.

I have just checked the minifridge and the humidifier, and nothing. I'm about to go to town on the dresser, checking drawers and such. Then to the bed.

Bed and dresser are clear. Next stop is the sofa...both of them. (By the way, all these things are in one room. If the snake could have gotten into the shop or utility room, I'll be checking those also. Would a snake head for the upstairs?

The snake can get anywhere....also...check your air vents in the room, with your house heat being on, it may be possible that the snake would want to crawl in there. Check to see that the vent isn't big enough for the snake to get into. If it is, your snake could end up in the ductwork, which would be a HUGE problem.

i found my snake UNDER the salt water tank. i have no idea how it squished itself down enough to get under there cause it 'looks' like it's pretty much flush to the floor!

trust us... they can get into the tiniest spaces.

My grandmother came home and I told her. She freaked out but we are looking for him. We've moved the couches, removed cushions and no snake. We moved the large safe that I use for a closet, no snake. There are a few places we have yet to look. There is a pile of boxes with some stuff in them that I will go through, a couple of bags with stuff in it, and the back of the other bookcase.

glad you told her :hug: i'm sure she'll be happier knowing than unknowingly finding zim!

My fish tank is flush to the nightstand. I don't think a 2ft snake could push itself under that tank since 1 gallon of water weighs 8lbs. We've also checked the bathroom. We really have no idea where this snake could be.

well of course your tank is flush... it's what it's sitting on that i'd check under silly :P

Checked that too. No sign of the snake. We are taking a little break. Lifting two couches by yourself is hard.

Thats horrible. I feel your pain. My bp has gotten out twice! Do you have any clothes laying around, maybe in your closet. Check behind hampers, and any storage boxes. Put some food out, frozen rat or whatever.

We've checked the closet, hamper and clothes. Will leaving a frozen mouse out bring him out of hiding. I mean, it is frozen and while snakes do search by smell, they also hunt with heat. What if I thawed a mouse and left it in a warm spot, say a box with a heating pad under it.

you can try that but i would finish searching first!

Yeah i would keep looking. A thawed mouse or rat will work better than a frozen one. Ive heard leaving them out a night is best, in a little hide box or something.

*insert cuss word of choice*

That darn snake was in its cage all along. How you might ask. Well after taking every last thing out of that cage and sifting through the dirt, and finding no snake we thought he had escaped. Well tonight, I get home and there is something in the cage. It is a piece of wet undigested mouse. I picked it up and it indeed was fresh. I started going through everything in the cage (I had put everything back in and locked the top) and sure enough, I notice a plastic branch that I have in the tank and remember the thing has a hole in it. So I pick it up and sure enough, the snake has wedged itself into the hollow core of the branch. He won't come out, so I just set it back down in the cage and will be checking to see if he comes out.

hahahahahahahahahahaha

sorry this is too funny... i'm sure you want to just ... well.... not laugh :P

uhh, my heart sinks.l Im sooo happy that you didnt lose him! Congrats, i bet you feel relieved

I'm laughing, trust me. But I'm so mad at him. I'm just....giiiiirrr!

:hug: what a day you've had... :hug:

Glad you found him!

I was reading through the thread and getting more and more worried for the guy. When my pastel ball python got out, the cats did get to him, resulting in some pretty ugly scarring. However, the cats were the ones who alerted me to where he was hiding by batting under the dishwasher (one hallway and two rooms away from where he escaped).

But now the question is...how to get him out of there. He looks like he's stuck, and if I go anywhere near the branch, he only pulls himself further in.

No wait...just saw his head popping out. Then he saw me looking at him, and went back in.

he's playing with you. he's been in there laughing... all day watching you tear the room apart... laughing and laughing... and now he's saying... oh man... now he's going to try to get me outta here... i'll just snuggle up higher and :giggle:

I'm -so- glad you found your baby. It's too bad that you were panicking and tossed your house upside down before discovering that he was in his cage all along!

:hug:

It's a good thing you love him, eh? ;)

Are you saying you found a regurged mouse in the cage???

First off...if he was "gone" and then regurged in the cage and then "disappeared" into the hollow branch again...he's not stuck. ;) It's extraordinarily rare for a snake to get stuck in anything. Their flexibility make human contortion artists look like 400 pound grandmas!

Second off...you'll need to try and figure out why he regurged and help him to not do so again. Perhaps just the stress of you flipping through the cage the way you have been when you thought he wasn't in there. You'll want to skip his next scheduled feeding in order to give his digestive system a chance to heal and right itself. Snake regurges are very hard on their system and feeding them too soon can cause a chain reaction of more regurging.

VERY glad to hear you found him!!

I am so glad you found him! Ah, good luck!

I have removed the piece and it looks to be a small mass (about the size of a nickle) of undigested fur. I'll skip this feeding to give him time to rest.

I am Really glad that you found him.. happy for you and him!

Thankyou all for helping me with all of this. It was terrifying. Zim has now come out of the branch and now resting in a hide. I have removed the branch, as I do not want a repeat of this.