Help! King snake escaped!!

[blb]

I cleaned all the snake cages yesterday. This morning I went to go hold the king snake for a bit. Its name is Queen and was born in July so is still little. I couldn't find Queen anywhere!!

The snakes are in our basement. We have 2 cats and 3 dogs. The dogs are not allowed in the basement part of the downstairs as it contains the cat stuff.

I'm going to put a heating pad on under the snake cages and hope Queen makes it there. But how to make sure the cats don't get it??

We have 2 cats. Sam is outside most of the time hunting and bringing us dead mice. Sweetpea is deaf and loves to lay on Queens cage and look out the window.

AHHH i'm so upset! Is there anything I can do???

[JLC]

Watch the cats....I mean that literally. Watch them and see if they can find the snake for you. If they show particular interest in some little opening or tucked-away spot or under some furniture or something. And in the meantime, you may have to try to block the cats out of the room you think is most likely to be in when you can't be there to watch. If that isn't feasible, then just hope they don't find it before you do.

How big is Queen?

[blb]

My husband was just down in the basement looking for a box of electronic stuff and found Queens shed in the middle of the floor. She must of shed last night.

I can't move the deaf cat out of 'her' space. It is her refugee from the dogs. I will watch them though and see if they find the snake.

I would say Queen is a little over 12". She has been eating 2 pinkies every week on Monday.

[mainbutter]

I support JLC's ideas.

My sis had a pet lizard(egyptian sand fish?) go missing from it's feeding tank. We would feed it in a tank with no substrate so it wouldn't eat sand-covered crickets. No one realized it had gone missing until we saw the cat playing with something. Turned out to be in the process of deciding whether or not to make the lizard its meal. Luckily we saw it happening in time to get the lizard away. It was tuckered out and stressed to hell, but luckily the cat didn't bite it or scratch it(declawed in the front, I wonder if that helped) and went on to live another 5 or 6 years.

Watch the cats for a day or two, and if you can't watch them, sequester them in an unlikely place for the snake to show up. Possibly do this for the dogs too. I've come across at least two posts on these forums in the past day or so about people finding snakes that have been missing for a long time, and while I hope you find yours alive and well those chances decrease dramatically with other pets roaming around, especially cats that you can't always watch.

good luck!

[JLC]

Ahhh...a wee little noodle of a baby, huh?

Maybe try something like this:

Get some very small plastic tubs (that are not clear) with lids. Put a hole in them that is just large enough for the snake to get into but would not allow a cat's curious paw to penetrate. Sprinkle some substrate (aspen or whatever he's used to living in...something fluffy that can help him feel secure...or a bit of shredded paper towels to hide under) in each tub and put a mouse pink in each tub. Then stash them away under furniture and around where the original enclosure was (they don't usually venture all that far from home).....wherever and however many you think is appropriate for your situation.

Check them daily to see if you catch yourself a baby snake.

[blb]

Thanks Judy, I will do that. It is in our basement which we have been slowly going through boxes and such. It is kinda a mess and a perfect place for a snake to hide. We are leaving friday for a week but our son will be house sitting for us and will check too. I just hope we find her before we leave. Thanks

[JLC]

Good luck!!!

[blb]

ok put our 4 snake traps yesterday. Nothing still.
One of our cats was playing with it yesterday, hubs saw, but by the time I got there the snake was gone.

I really hope I find Queen before she dies.

[anendeloflorien]

ok put our 4 snake traps yesterday. Nothing still.
One of our cats was playing with it yesterday, hubs saw, but by the time I got there the snake was gone.

I really hope I find Queen before she dies.

Good luck finding her! They are very resourceful little things so even if you don't find her right away don't be too surprised if she pops her little head out someday down the road. I've still got one baby corn thats MIA for a while but I haven't given up hope yet.

[blb]

Thanks, that is good to hear.