Oh no I lost my snake

mmadden28 · July 2008

About 3 weeks ago, I found a hatchling snake in my pool. I rescued it and decided it was pet-worthy. I wuld say perhaps 10-12" long. I had a Ball Python for about 10 years (Gave "Monty" away about ten years ago.) I had a good idea what I was getting into and my boys would enjoy it (3 & 5). Anyway went out an bought a good secure tank, etc. He's been fed twice now and he seemed content in his new home. He's expected to live about 21 years and get 6-8' long. At first I thought he awas a Miami phase Corn snake, but since its not native to the Northeast-he'd have to be an escapee from a pet owner or breeder. I did some more research and although it looks amazinging similar (according to pics on the web) to a Miami phase Corn, its actually an Eastern Milk snake which is actually native to these parts and has an apparently distinctive "Y" shaped pattern on his head. I suppose its possible that some of the pictures of the Miami Phhse Corn may actually be Eastern Milk snakes.

I am not yet sure how, but I have a suspicion, he escaped. I have searched high and low and setup flour trails outside some doorways to detect any movement.
My suspicion of how he escaped still bugs me though. It just doesn't seem possible. The only evidence that its possible is one, that he's gone and two, that I found some snake skin shedding near the very very small opening at the top of the tank (like as thick as the little tab on a Bic pen, you know that you slip over paper or your pocket.) It just doesn't seem possible for him to fit through that small an opening.

I'll post some pics of the snake and the tank lid shortly (and measurements). Gotta get to bed. I am done searching today. I suppose I'll put out a pinky on the center of the rom tonigh to see if he eats it. If he does then I'll at least know hes still in the house, adn that he'll be fed. What I really should so is camp out and wait, but...

Actually speaking of camping-I think I have to move out and live in a tent now-The wife is NOT happy...:(

Sherardp · July 2008

Not a fan of snakes at all. Dont mind touching and holding for awhile, Im good after a few minutes. Hope you find it though. Seems like a cool hobby, especially when its chow time.

mule · July 2008

Hey, I'm in downingtown and have seen some milk snakes while riding my mtb around the Brandywine along 322. They are quite elusive so good luck finding him.

I actually came across a corn snake at french creek, I didn't see him till the last second and he actually bit the front tire of my bike, dam those things give me the willeys

george daniel · July 2008

Eh,, I pretty much leave snakes to themselves,if you wanna see an old man move fast,,just shout "snake",,all you're gonna see is "butt and elbows".:D

janmike · July 2008

george daniel wrote: »

Eh,, I pretty much leave snakes to themselves,if you wanna see an old man move fast,,just shout "snake",,all you're gonna see is "butt and elbows".:D

Bet I could run faster than you George.

Sherardp · July 2008

Keiko wrote: »

How do you milk a snake?

by their little nipples I think.

bigaudiofanatic · July 2008

Keiko wrote: »

How do you milk a snake?

"You can milk anything with nipples" Meet The Parents

hockeyboy · July 2008

Do you have a wife or girlfriend who may have covertly released?

steveinaz · July 2008

Check your bathroom regularly and throughly (water source), and check warm areas. I had this happen once, 3 weeks later the snake came sliding out of the bathroom.

Joe08867 · July 2008

Also look under the cage you had the snake in. If you have a warming pad they sometimes do this to get warmer.

Like Steve said check area of water. They like bathrooms and such. It is amazing how well they can hide.

Good luck in your search.

zingo · July 2008

mmadden28 wrote: »

Oh no I lost my snake

Sounds like a personal problem...

steveinaz · July 2008

They can go weeks without food, but they need water daily.

mmadden28 · July 2008

hockeyboy wrote: »

Do you have a wife or girlfriend who may have covertly released?

Ah yes, I forgot to reveal my suspicion- It was late...anyway, its seems awfully convenient that my Mother-in-Law came to visit and my 5 y/o son told her the story about how I would get kicked out of the house if the snake got out. It was very interesting how it 'suddenly' disappeeared when she went to see the snake and found it to be missing. now she keeps razzing on me that I will have to go and find an apartment in Chester or live int he woods. She's is just having way too much fun with this.

mmadden28 · July 2008

steveinaz wrote: »

They can go weeks without food, but they need water daily.

He was about 3 days overdue for his feeding when he escaped, probably why he tried so hard. I'm camping out tonight with a pinky on a heating pad.

I left his tank open on the floor with his waterbowl, maybe.....

mmadden28 · July 2008

Joe08867 wrote: »

Also look under the cage you had the snake in. If you have a warming pad they sometimes do this to get warmer.

Like Steve said check area of water. They like bathrooms and such. It is amazing how well they can hide.

Good luck in your search.

Yeah I did that. Actually when I first searched the cage I checked it thoroughly. However when I came home from work, I thought about the substrate liner.

I put a felt-like liner on the bottom of the tank then the Aspen bedding. I put the sticker heater on the bottom of the tank. I felt I needed the liner in case the snake burrowed to the bottom-I didn't want him getting burned (as the heater packaging thoroughly warns about). The first search, I never thought to look under the liner--on the second search with somebody watching me to ensure I didn't miss anything......as I peeled it up....
....I was disappointed he wasn't there. Oh well.

This is going to take some time.

treitz3 · July 2008

Put a stack of pillows or blankets in the middle of each room. Have one with the heating rock underneath. Check often. Behind the refrigerator, TV, dishwasher or water heater would be prime suspects [anything that provides cover and heat].

mmadden28 · July 2008

mmadden28 wrote: »

...I'll post some pics of the snake and the tank lid shortly (and measurements). ...(

OK here are some pics-Photobucket was semi down for maintenance this morning...:
First the snake (my boy named him Slimey (or Slimy):

One with a quarter to show scale-the picture above makes him look really big. :eek The bulge is his first pinky

He's in the small tank I put him in after I caught him. I continued to use it as his feeding tank. I'll use it tonight as well.

A pic of the tank I had him (or her) in-Its 12x12x12. The front doors lock and when shut provide less than a millimeter of an opening around the doors. Pretty snug. Note I expected to upgrade the tank later-I realize this is too small when he grows up.:

Top view with lid on. Note that when the lid is on and clipped in (four clips), it really has very little play, probably less than a millimeter, maybe two if I use some force. The top left is the suspect escape area. The contents include a water bowl, a coconut shell for hiding and some wood to climb and hide under. The bedding is shredded Aspen.

This image shows the lid off and toward the front a bit to show the lip on the tank that the lid sits in. Note the lid does not slide. You have to undo the clips and it lfts freely off. I only moved it forward to keep it in the image. Slimey would've had to lift the lid and gotten around the lip. Note the styrofoam 'rock' wall. Its in its normal position. Oh yeah, and I had a small round Frog tank on top of the cage. Its about 2lbs.

The Three holes are for routing wires and filter hoses (if used). The styrofoam has a channel in it. There is a little slide on the lid that allows you to cover the unused holes. I had all 3 closed as it shows in the lid.

Another shot same as above except I pulled the styrofoam forward a bit to reveal the channel. Its likely that he could've pushed the styro forward in his escape.

A shot of the back to show the channels in the styro. I would imagine this helped in his getting to the top with ease. The bottom of the left channel was his favorite spot. Its under all the bedding, close to the heater (but not on it). He has to burrow to get there.

Here is a close up of the corner. The opening that accomdates the slider is about 1/8' wide. Its the only possible place I think he could have gotten out (although I still have an extremely difficult time believing he could squeeze through that small a space.). :eek:

Why do I think that he in fact did use that space? Well because right under the slot sitting on the lip was a small pieice of shedded skin. He wasn't shedding as far as I could tell, but if he actually squeezed thru, I could certainly see some skin sloughing off.

I should also note, that since I had him, he ate twice-but hadn't pooped either out yet. Historically with my Ball Python, he always held his previous meal until he ate again. Usually teh same or next day afetr eating he would ****. I would imagine instincual to get every last ounce of protein until the next meal. I am surprised that he didn't squeeze any **** out in the escape.

mmadden28 · July 2008

treitz3 wrote: »

Put a stack of pillows or blankets in the middle of each room. Have one with the heating rock underneath. Check often. Behind the refrigerator, TV, dishwasher or water heater would be prime suspects [anything that provides cover and heat].

I was going to try a small heating blanket, with his feeding tank, and leave his Coconut shell nearby. The heater I have is a sticker type and its firmly stuck on the bottom of the main tank. I would leave his water in the bowl in his tank which would be on the floor-maybe he'll get homesick.

Checked the fridge as far as I could see-Not much clearance-I'm afraid to move it though for fear of running him over if he is there. I'd rather wait for him to come out.
I don't think he can get into the dishwasher area-pretty well sealed, but at this point I'm convinced he can probably go straight thru a solid wall!
Water Heater is in the Basement-Oh I really hope he didn't/doesn't make it down there-talk about a disaster area-Its one big giant toy box.

Man, I have three freakin levels to search, ~4000+ sq/ft and lots of stuff! This is gonna be fun. And we're hosting our Summer party the first Sat in Aug (100+ guests). I only hope he didn't get out of the house, but I fear the drafts in my doors are probably bigger than the hole he escaped out. So far no activity on the flour lines I put out.
The warmest spot in the house is probably with the Onkyo AVR and Emotiva Amp. :cool:

amulford · July 2008

It's a pretty snake. I say the MIL let it run. Better hope the wife don't come across it.

sophie · July 2008

hmm...

mmadden28 · October 2008

Just FYI-Its been close to 3 months now--the snake hasn't turned up.

I hope at least that he made it back into the wild.

Joe08867 · October 2008

Sorry to hear that. It was a neat looking snake.

Kex · October 2008

Maybe you should just get a couple of Ben's chickens? You could even steal them when he's not looking: he said he forgot to get cartridges to use as protection against non-humanoid predators ...

shadowofnight · October 2008

Kex wrote: »

Maybe you should just get a couple of Ben's chickens? You could even steal them when he's not looking: he said he forgot to get cartridges to use as protection against non-humanoid predators ...

He only forgot cartridges for that gun

Man if that would have happened back when I had snakes, there would have been a lot of missing cats...dogs...racoons...etc in my neighborhood. But mine were in fortified cages I built like subwoofers and had plexiglass that moonlighted as bulletproof glass...also with padlocks on the doors.

chillywilly · October 2008

I glad mine has never escaped but he would be a bit easier to find. He's about 5 1/2 feet long

mmadden28 · October 2008

shadowofnight wrote: »

He only forgot cartridges for that gun

Man if that would have happened back when I had snakes, there would have been a lot of missing cats...dogs...racoons...etc in my neighborhood. But mine were in fortified cages I built like subwoofers and had plexiglass that moonlighted as bulletproof glass...also with padlocks on the doors.

I'm almost afraid to ask what kind of snake. :eek:;)

George Grand · October 2008

"They're just as afraid of you, as you are of them."

Anybody ever see a snake faint at the sight of a human? No? Case closed.

shadowofnight · October 2008

George Grand wrote: »

"They're just as afraid of you, as you are of them."

Anybody ever see a snake faint at the sight of a human? No? Case closed.

Actually quite a few of them...the most common you would know about here in the states are the hog nosed snakes. You walk up to one and they go belly up and completely dead limp...you would think it was a dead piece of meat

Some of them go so far as opening their mouth and sticking their tongue out to really look dead.

This guy just reached in the bucket and the hog nosed snake wanted to win an academy award....

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shadowofnight · October 2008

mmadden28 wrote: »

I'm almost afraid to ask what kind of snake. :eek:;)

At home....two really really big Reticulated Pythons and one Red Tailed Boa.
When I bought my new house, they went to a friend ...and thats where they stayed.

Oh no I lost my snake

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