Escaped or hiding? Advice needed

Alright, so here's tbhe deal:

We just got the snake on Tuesday. And we agreed not to handle him until Saturday or Sunday. I broke down and held him briefly yesterday when changing the water (btw, is Britta filtered water ok? It's what I drink).
So my sister is in school and I look into the tank and can't find the snake. I checked in the hides, and even used a flashlight to check inside and I couldn't find it. Now the substrate is thick enough for it to hide under so here's my question:
Should I open the viv and check under the substrate to make sure it didn't escape (knowing it might traumatize it more) or should I leave it alone and just pray it'll emerge from under the substrate tonight? I'm worried because I have two cats, and although they're not allowed in the snake room, if the snake escaped, it might get under the door into the living room (where the cats hang out). So far I just put a towel under the door to keep it in the room incase it DID escape.

Any advice on how to handle the situation?

dig in and check
better to figure out where its at now

If it's really bothering you and the snake is in a small enough viv with a clear or translucent bottom, gently pick up the viv and look from underneath. You'll see the snake's belly if it's under the substrate :cheers:

Update

Wow - thanks for the quick replies

The viv was too big to pick up, so I took The Nothing's advice and dug around a bit until I found it hiding under the substrate in the corner of the warm side (Thank goodness!). This probably means we're back to square one and have to leave him alone until Monday at least, yes?

For future purposes: short of setting up a wireless webcam by the viv, how can I be sure the snake is hiding rather than escaped? Are we using too much substrate? I don't mind if he hides all day in the one of the hides, but I panic a little if I can't find him AT ALL and have to wonder what the cats are grinning about.

i dont think you would need to start over. unless you handled him for more than a minute. just leave him be untill your original date. that won't bother him at all. my snow hides all the time to so i just dig around and find him.

I doubt that the little bit of digging around was a major stress factor. As far as being sure he didn't escape, you need to be comfortable with the security of the top (assuming it is a top opening viv) . If you tell us exactly the type of setup you have, we can make suggestions. If you are using an aquarium with the metal screen lids, get a few extra clips for it. :cheers:

My favorite is when I got my first snake, I went to check on him & he was no where to be found. Not in the hides & I had paper towel as substrait. No where. So I open the top & down falls a startled snake. He squished himself between the viv & the top.

mcarabian said:

Any advice on how to handle the situation?

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Yeah, Go out right now and buy another corn snake cause your going to get another snake anyway!!!! Go!!

Lennycorn said:

Yeah, Go out right now and buy another corn snake cause your going to get another snake anyway!!!! Go!!

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LOL Too funny!
But that's what I did!

soon to be three.....

Heh, thanks again, I feel a little less guilty now about digging around

I'm following Dean's thread about his snake that got its head squished between the lid and the edge of the box, so I always make sure the screen top is clear before I slide it open.

mbdorfer: We have one of those critter cages (20 gal.) with the sliding top screen. So far, I've only heard good things about the cage, but I worry because the wire for the thermostat needs to come out of the cage, so the screen isn't exactly air tight. My sister thinks the gaps are too small to worry about, and I think if it's a gap, no matter how small (and the gap is pretty small), the snake will escape

I'm a little paranoid because of the cats. One of them is an indoor/outdoor cat so she has no problems eating a snake, and the other is an indoor only cat and always looking for trouble.

If it's any comfort, I have several of the sliding top Critter cages in both the 20l and the 10 gal size. I have never had an escape from one of those. If you're handy, make a notch in the rim of the tank and the top just big enough for the thermostat wire so the lid slides completely into place. If you cut it too big, take a piece of airline tubing and slice it so it slips over the wire. :wavey:

I would use close the top with the wire running out then secure it through the little locking thing with a bread tie. That way you can control the gap. That's what I did, but we have an adult in the 55g.

I had a hatchling in one of those tanks, and it was able to get out, even though the top was secured. If it's a larger snake, it's probably fine, but with a smaller hatchling, it might be able to squeeze/push out the smallest little gap.