Well, after sitting and watching Mr. Bojangles for a couple hours today, I finally found out how he has been getting out - and it wasn't what I expected. I figured that he'd been pushing through the inner-most portions of the tub's top where the locking clips weren't. Nope. Instead, he's actually been squeeeeeezing through the 1" x 1/2" fencing that I zip-tied to the lid over a hole I had cut! I couldn't belive the little bugger could fit through it, so I simply took the extra pieces of fencing I had left over and placed it on top of the piece already installed, but lying at an opposite direction so as to make the spaces 1/2 of what they used to be. He hasn't been out since

Anyway, I suppose what could be said about this is that it's easy for a beginner snake-keeper to lose his pets from their cages. You can't keep an eye on them all day long, and all it takes is for you to be out of the room for a few minutes for your snake to capitalize on the opportunity. You don't setup an enclosure thinking that your snake can escape it - especially if you can't fit your fingers through even the largest gaps! And when it happens, it's not always an obvious fix.

Good luck in finding your snake, and I must admit - you do seem a little lax about the whole situation. I'd be scouring the entire house for my baby! When you do find him, and put him back in his enclosure, I highly recommend that you grab a book or a game-boy, and sit in the room with him for as long as it takes to catch him in the act - then fix it!