Escapee help needed ... lost snake

[Bogertophis]

I'm so glad you aren't trying glue traps...those are horrible! I've never heard of anyone trying to trap their pet that way, but I know many herps get
stuck on them by accident, not what the person was trying to catch & hard to remove. I've never tried to use a water bottle trap, so no opinion there.

Really glad you've narrowed down where he is, we're all pulling for you to get him safely home to his viv soon...yes, snake escapes "happen" to most of us.
Each time there's a new post on this I'm hoping he's in your hands. He will be soon...

My funniest "escape" wasn't from a cage but from eggs! Back when I lived in the desert, I didn't need an incubator for my snake eggs as room temperature
was perfect. So I was at least a week or two from this clutch of Everglades rat snakes to hatch (or so I thought) & I was just about to put the box of eggs
into a secure cage when we had an earthquake while I was at work. When I came home, I found that the earthquake appeared to hasten their desire to get
going...there were 3 little slimy trails of vermiculite leading away from several empty egg shells and "the game" was on. I found them all pretty fast, and oh
did they resent that! Hatchling rat snakes are feisty, they coiled & lunged & did their best to scare me off: one was on the top of a book case, up near the
ceiling...most impressive! Another was on his way up, & the third went into the closet. (the rest hatched out into a cage, whew!)

[Zincubus]

He’s not lost anymore but also not found. At this point, I’ve set out a seedling mat (they stay at like 90F), a makeshift hide and water outside where I believe he is, but no luck the last few nights. He’s migrated from the spot he was in but is still inaccessible and out of view. I still use flour to track his movements and I can see he is no loner going for the dishwasher, stove or refrigerator based on the lines not getting squished down; I removed all of the skirtings. He is still migrating somewhere around my kitchen which also has a utility closet with HVAC ... pretty sure he is under there and it’s even less accessible than anything else and the most dangerous to both of us to mess around with. Hoping he comes out in the next 24 hours or I will have to call someone. Only way to get where I believe he is, is to cut into the floor that raises the furnace and water heater off the ground. Or cut through the drywall ... I may do that because I know I can patch it. May just do that tonight anyways or certainly in the morning if my “trap” doesn’t work. He’s a cunning little guy and I know I need to get to him ASAP, but I am making sure he is taken care of until capture. The flour lines have really helped me isolate him or at least know when he leaves the kitchen and goes back into it. I would love to stay up all night waiting on him like I did other the holiday, but alas ... work.

Thanks for everyone’s support in saying it happens and thanks for asking for an update. I feel bad I haven’t captured him yet, but I don’t want to trap him as most people use glue pads and then a solvent and that just seems wrong to me. He is also too fat for the water bottle trap trick; I feel.


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I got one of mine back safely after a few weeks by just leaving an small terranium on the floor of the snake room - just had a heat mat underneath and a dish of water inside !!


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[Bogertophis]

I got one of mine back safely after a few weeks by just leaving an small terranium on the floor of the snake room - just had a heat mat underneath and a dish of water inside !!


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And that's amazing! That's what I call a well-behaved snake...

[67temp]

Keep up the hunt! Sounds like you are closing in and hope you find him soon.

One of my corns got out some time last night. Thankfully I found him this morning after 10 minutes of searching. He was only a few feet from his tank, nice and cozy inside a sock drawer. Corns think it's their job to escape.

[Spechal]

This is one sneaky dude or something. I cut I hole into the drywall to be met with more drywall to find that a return vent made the whole area accessible ... (fml) ... he wasn’t in there. It also happens to be the laundry room so I took all of the covers off the washer and dryer and no dice. The flour line hasn’t been messed with other then the area I know he is coming in and out from.

Back to the drawing board and left a hide and water out next to the area.


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[Zincubus]

This is one sneaky dude or something. I cut I hole into the drywall to be met with more drywall to find that a return vent made the whole area accessible ... (fml) ... he wasn’t in there. It also happens to be the laundry room so I took all of the covers off the washer and dryer and no dice. The flour line hasn’t been messed with other then the area I know he is coming in and out from.

Back to the drawing board and left a hide and water out next to the area.


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What about adding a heatmat ??




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[Spechal]

Tried that the last couple of nights too ... should add it back. Thanks!


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[Bogertophis]

Any way he could get into the dryer vent that goes to the outside? I've seen snakes (when placed deliberately on my floor) head unerringly to the
tiny bit of fresh air coming in at the sliding glass door. Also, I'm assuming it's warm outside too where you are? So he might be attracted to that as
he might be to a heat mat???

[Spechal]

Haven’t disconnected the dryer vent to check ... it’s a stacked one and the dryer is on top, but worth a look. It’s averaging 95-97F outside these days in KC. Thanks!

[Bogertophis]

He probably can't get into the actual vent hose itself, but he might be attracted to where it goes outside; look up inside the back of the dryer (& washer).