Lost snake but I don't know how he escaped and where he possibly went???

[That_Snake_Named_Cow]

He is a 3 month old Kenyan sand boa in a 10 gallon tank, placed on a tall drawer in my room. He is my first snake and I feel so guilty for allowing this to happen. He has possibly been lost for almost a week now (I held him last Friday. Was going to feed him Monday but couldn't find him. My mom told me to stop bothering him since he was also nearing his shed so I decided to not interact with him for 2 days. He wasn't in his tank at all after that). I apologize for any poor formatting as I am doing this on a phone and I'm really upset.
[This is a link to an Imgur post to the tank set-up because I don't know how to use this site on mobile] http://imgur.com/a/HYQcBff
I recreated what his tank looked like since I've made a mess trying to look for him. The aspen is definitely not that low but I do admit it was around an inch and a half (because I was told they didn't need much bedding) but I learned better and planned to increase his bedding once I got more aspen (which I did but now he's gone). The water bowl is in front of the fake plant. And yes, I was an idiot, thinking that I didn't need to weigh down the lid since "he's a baby" and "he's so low, he won't reach the lid."
I deserve being called out for my mistakes here but I want to firstly know how he escaped. Was the fake cactus too tall? It was pretty light so it can fall down easily (I would lean it towards the glass so it didn't fall). I see no other way for him to have escaped other than that cactus but then where did he go??? His tank takes up most of the space so he should've fell down on the ground and gotten very hurt, right? My floor is carpet so I don't know if he would've died or not. But I did check everywhere near the drawer, including inside, and did not see him. I have no idea where he could've gone or if he's even alive, especially since it could've been days since he escaped.

I apologize so much for not being able to prevent this. I have made a big mistake as a first-time owner. My mom says he's dead, which he likely is, but I just want to find him so I at least know what happened. I also live in an apartment so it would not be good to have a loose snake. I don't know where to start so I'm asking here. I'm sure I have done many things wrong and so I'm fine with any sort of criticism along with answers.

[Bogertophis]

I can pretty much guarantee that he climbed up the fake cactus & pushed his way out from under the lid. Yes, you blew it, but most of us have made mistakes & had a snake escape, so don't give up, just learn from this mistake & keep looking for him- most of our escapees get found, so I'm hoping you get lucky too, & that he comes to no harm.

Snakes are very motivated & practically stand on their tail tips to push their way up if they think they can escape at the top of "the wall"- never under-estimate a snake's ability to figure a way out, & don't under-estimate their attraction to the fresh air, whether it's coming into the top of their cage, or thru a gap at the nearest patio door. For his sake, the sooner you find him, the better. Snakes like to hide, & they often choose cozy dark places- be careful when you look so you don't hurt him if he's under something like your mattress or a chair or a couch cushion...look first! Look behind, under & in all bureau drawers, & it's time to clean out your closet too, sorry to say. No promise he stayed in your room either.

Don't know where you live, but most of us live someplace where it's currently winter- so considering floors tend to be drafty & cold, that will slow him down & likely make him brumate (sleep) someplace. I had a hatchling king snake that escaped (many years ago, due to a flaw with the store-bought cage that had a sliding screen top secured with a peg that locked it) & I found her within a day...in one of my boots in my closet! I hope you find your KSB.

[Spicey]

I have seen my KSB standing on his tail to reach the top of his tank. He tried and tried to wedge himself between the glass ledge and the tank lid for about 15 minutes before he lost his balance and plopped back down to the ground. I was really glad I had some decent lid clips. I used to think I could leave the tank open for a couple of minutes while I went in the other room, but I don't any more. I just hope I've gone through my quota of escaped reptiles (multiple anoles when I was a kid) and Spotticus stays firmly and safely where he belongs. It's so stressful when your baby gets out. I hope yours comes out of hiding soon.

[303_enfield]

Take the dresser apart. He is in the clothing or under a drawer. Get a plastic tub to put the clothes in after you unfold an check one piece at a time. An by check that’s every pocket, leg an sleeve.

Heck, I removed everything from my kids room an still didn’t find the snake. Putting the bed back the snake came out of the box spring.

Snakes are sneaky!

Good luck!

[BeansTheDerp]

place bags, plastic or paper, near door entrance and check places you that you wouldn't even think to see them at. they might stick near walls or slither against them to make sure you check places near there, the reason why you want bags is because if they slither over them it might make an crinkling noise alerting you to their position! good luck finding your snake!

[Hugsplox]

place bags, plastic or paper, near door entrance and check places you that you wouldn't even think to see them at. they might stick near walls or slither against them to make sure you check places near there, the reason why you want bags is because if they slither over them it might make an crinkling noise alerting you to their position! good luck finding your snake!

I wouldn't recommend using plastic bags. I've seen way too many people kill wild snakes putting them in plastic bags while they wait for animal control to come remove them. Snake curls up trying to get out and ends up suffocating in the bag. I get the thought behind the idea, but I'd rather you have a snake escape the room then find him later stuck in a plastic bag.

[Ball_Pythons4life]

You can also Put a mouse or rat (f/t) in a tupperware container with holes in the top to try and draw him out, or if you don't want the smell you can just put a heating mat out to see if he'll come towards it for the heat. You can put lines of flour or rice by doorways and if he slithers in or out you can see.

[BeansTheDerp]

you could also try taking out their hide if they have one and set it out in your room somewhere, eventually he might come across it and think. "hmm, I could use a nap! or look, it's my home! time to slep!" (did that typo on purpose.) and then later you could check on the hide and he might be inside!

[Zincubus]

I got an escapee back a few months ago ..

I simply put a small plastic tank on its side on snake room floor next to the wall ( they slither around the sides of a room ) and left a small dish of water in there plus a small heat mat underneath .
Initially I left a pinky mouse in each night without success but two weeks later I found it asleep one morning in the little tank over the warm heat mat .

Snakes are like us they need warmth and water more than food ..

I saw a survival program a while back and the guy said you can go three weeks without food but only three days without water.


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