Hello
 

Hi all, my name is Eric and I am from Chicagoland, USA. I bought my 8 year old son a corn snake he named Frank over a year ago and it is his pet and he took great care of it but we underestimated the inner Houdini. I registered on this forum because today was unbelievable. He was holding his snake and let it on the floor and looked away (rookie mistake) for a few seconds - it crawled between a dime size crevice in our kitchen cabinets we didn't even know existed in November of last year and hasn't been seen since. I literally took out the kitchen to try to find it and was unsuccessful and my son was devastated. Today, 6 months later, I was in our cold, unfinished basement and saw the snake - I thought it was dead - was definitely darker color and not moving - I picked him up to dispose of him and he moved, barely. Now we have him back in this enclosure and he is more active but I do not think we are out of the woods. I will post updates - we are trying to get him to eat but no success thus far - we are getting new mice right now. Any advice would certainly be appreciated as we attempt to save him.

Hello and welcome!

This is a great site to get information from some of the best keepers! I do hope your son's snake pulls through.

Good luck!

-Tonya

First make sure of the following...
Temps in the mid 80s in at least part of the enclosure
Several good hiding places in the enclosure for it to feel secure
Resist holding the snake until recovery
Make sure it has an opportunity to drink. If it is in a weakened state, you my need to hold it near the water once a day.
Always keep fresh water.
Keep in a low traffic area
Then try to feed it smaller meals than usual.
The point is to try to remove any stress until it recovers.

Great name by the way!
Good luck!

Thank you for the information and the welcome. Unfortunately the snake didn't make it - we found him on his side the next morning. Couldn't get him to eat and he wasn't interested in water. He actually went around the aquarium a few times so I was optimistic. Anyway we are going to get another one and take better care not to let it escape. Been a stressful experience for my son - he loved that snake and blamed himself but such is life.

Sorry to hear that. But a life lesson for your son.

Thanks...........