The smart guy who fiddled with his locks finally did it.

He squeezed out of the gap he created some time between last and midnight tonight and I have hunted everywhere.

Here's the big problem; the house is a house log almost 300 years old, there are holes everywhere, 'false walls' where layers of clapboard and siding were added later in the history of the house and the bottoms of those additions are NOT sealed from the outside.

We have torn apart both rooms where the snakes are.

Upended fridges and stoves.

Took down a 'wet wall panel' and looked back in the plumbing space.

Gone down into the dirt dug Root Cellar Of Horror, just in case.

Looked in every box, piece of clothing, looked up, looked down, looked all over the other snakes' racks.

He's just nowhere to be seen.

He's a bright yellow Pastel almost 4 feet long and weighs over 1700 grams so we're not looking for a little camouflaged snake, here.

I've got a drinking bowl with flour around it.

Foil/plastic laid down does no good because I'm too hard of hearing to know if he goes over it.

I'm am just devastated.

This is my beloved 'lap snake' Alice who is like a dog with scales.

He's hopeless when it comes to being a 'real snake'.

I am going to leave out a dead mouse *but* he only eats his mice if they're very warm and won't touch them, cold.

I don't know what else to do but pray.

I could beat myself for leaving that one key in.

It's the one he 'picked' and that gave him a difficult but apparently doable way out of his tank/with Lucy lid.

If he's gotten into the walls and goes outside, would he venture into the open?

My dad or my neighbor will kill him on sight if he does.

[neither of them know I have snakes and they are SO phobic I'd rather not tell them to 'be on the lookout' unless you all think it's possible he'll surface outside in the open yards]

I hate myself.