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Lost snake

Is it possible you can get a "Close Up Photo" and a detailed explanation so we can actually see the Spot where Dolly crawled through and an understanding of exactly what happened? I'm still not sure i understand it all, and this valuable info could help somebody else with a similar Set up as the one you have.
 
Crazy Snake

Remember when I said my former snake used to lie up on the top ledge of the aquarium? Then I put dowel rods all around to keep him from doing that. Just now, for the first time, I find Loopy (ask me why his name is Loopy) lying up there, clinging somehow, to what ever ledge there is left! Crazy snake. When he's a bit older, and larger, he won't be able to do that! This pic is looking up at the mesh top from below and there he is, just taking a break! These guys never cease to amaze me.
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Karl_Mcknight said:
Is it possible you can get a "Close Up Photo" and a detailed explanation so we can actually see the Spot where Dolly crawled through and an understanding of exactly what happened? I'm still not sure i understand it all, and this valuable info could help somebody else with a similar Set up as the one you have.
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I hate to admit but it's too emotionally painful to do it at the moment. It is a non-standard lid-- PetSmart All Living Things sold as a snake enclosure so it has no bearing on most here with more standard screen lids. If anyone does have this lid just know that your snake can turn a latch and get out the corner. Get straps around it or otherwise secure it. I will get something posted as soon as I'm up to it, including my Velcro reinforcements.

kdickens: Thanks for the pic of Loopy! Amazing.
 
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:cry: I just logged in and saw this post! :cry:

I can only imagine how you're feeling right now. I hope that you are reunited with Dolly very soon.
 
I had a baby snake escape once at my mom's house. I had her and her siblings each in deli cups because someone was coming over to look at them and decide which one they wanted. One of the cups didn't have a super secure lid, but I thought it would be okay. I was wrong. When I went to check on them a few hours later, all that was in her cup was her little balled up shed that she had just peeled out of. Now, my mom is quite afraid of snakes, and she has four dogs and two cats, so I was quite worried. I shoved a towel under the door to the room I assumed she was in and thoroughly searched through everything in that room. She was nowhere to be found.

I put out some painter's tape traps and left two halves of a pinkie in two spots where I thought she might be drawn. Nothing worked. I continued to search and I kept an eye on the dogs and cats to see if they might have spotted her.

I don't remember how long she ended up being lost, but I think it was a week or more. My mom, unfortunately, was the one who found her. In the exact opposite end of the house, my mom was letting the dogs out into yard one morning, but the sliding patio door was not rolling very well. She sort of forced it open and that's when she saw the little red body squished in the roller grooves.

She felt extremely horrible and was sure that she must have killed her. (As I said, she's afraid of snakes, but she also is very sensitive and would not want to see any animal get hurt or killed.) I rushed over and carefully extracted her from her hiding spot. She ended up having a few small cuts and scales bent the wrong way, but otherwise was completely fine. She ate and shed with no problem and her minor injuries cleared up with the very next shed.

Anyway, I remember being very surprised that she made it from one end of the busy house to the other with no one spotting her. And if my mom hadn't found her that morning, she probably would have gotten outside and been lost forever.

I'm sure Dolly will turn up. The few times I have lost snakes, the various tricks did not help me find them, but they ended up turning up on their own in unexpected places. Just keep your eyes and ears open. Good luck!
 
Thanks hypnoctopus. We are now moving into that "just keep our eyes open" phase. We realize that he could brumate in the basement for the winter. I have a pothos in a vase of water on the floor in the livingroom that he could drink from (he loves vines) and I'm keeping a dish of water that I will refill weekly, along the wall under the laundry sink in the basement where hopefully he would smell water anyway.

I still have hope or I wouldn't be beefing up that viv security. I have found out the technique for closing the straps so the lid can't budge even with all the latches fully open. The straps also seem to have a little stretch and really cinch down a few seconds after closing them. I have the Monoprice version of 1 inch One Wrap. I'm also going to take the opportunity to run the UTH and thermostat wires just the way I want to, now that I have more experience. I bought two rolls of the One wrap as well as low profile industrial Velcro and sew on Velcro. So for both snake security and wire management I can really make things nice.

When he is found there will be great rejoicing at the return of the prodigal snake! Well fed at 60 grams I figure he has even more of a chance than a hatchling. I will keep hoping and looking.
 
DollysMom .... Hi again! Not sure how chilly Chicago is getting these days, but thought maybe if you put out a couple hand warmers maybe Dolly would curl up next to one. You could wrap it in a hand towel or something to keep it from getting too hot. Anyway ... just a thought. And they're pretty cheap. Here's a link to Amazon for them. I've used these, they do work to keep warm! I've also found them at Walmart in the hunting section.
 
Thanks for the idea kdickens. We are still enjoying a very nice weather but it will be cooling off. There are also the warmers used for shipping snakes that last 40 hours and may be a bit safer (as if I can keep Dolly from harm right now). Have them on my Amazon wish list for emergencies. I guess this qualifies ;)
 
Dollysmom .... anything? Snake tracks or trace evidence left behind? I'm still sitting on the edge of my seat here. Don't give up! Could be anywhere in the house by now. Do you have an upstairs? I'm thinking of you!
 
kdickens said:
Dollysmom .... anything? Snake tracks or trace evidence left behind? I'm still sitting on the edge of my seat here. Don't give up! Could be anywhere in the house by now. Do you have an upstairs? I'm thinking of you!
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Thanks for thinking of me and Dolly <3.

Not a trace. We have a full semi-finished attic and a full unfinished basement with stairs up and down.

I'm not giving up, but I'm going though a grieving process. That's why I've taken a little break from posting here. I know what I need to do on that front. I'm not going into details but I've lost friends and family under a number of circumstances and I know how to work through loss. I really just let it out last week and this week I'm doing better. I'm still sad and still miss my precious little snakey guy, but am also accepting that he is not here right now.

Last night I dreamed I found him, but it was just a dream. I hope he is still alive. I hope we will see him when we least expect it. I have two 20 gallon longs in the basement and I'm going to get a spare viv snake ready. We are also doing some additional snake safety measures around the house. I've already beefed up viv security. Then, unless Dolly shows up first, we are going to go corn snake shopping at Tinley on Oct 10.

There will always be a viv at the ready for Dolly if and when he shows up. Dolly will always be our first corn snake, missed until we find him, forever wanted, and forever loved.
 
I'm still praying you will find him safe and sound. I don't know what I'd do if Shadow were lost. He's such a sweetheart.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
 
I can't believe it's almost time for Tinley! I wish I was going...That's a pretty good strategy to make Dolly reappear- buy another snake.

Don't lose hope. Just keep an eye out. He should turn up.
 
mscbf2010 said:
I'm still praying you will find him safe and sound. I don't know what I'd do if Shadow were lost. He's such a sweetheart.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
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I know. Each one is so unique and special. It is the same as with dogs and cats. The general public doesn't know you can love your pet snake that much, but you sure can and when they are lost the grief is just as deep. Thanks for the prayers. Much appreciated. <3

Nanci said:
I can't believe it's almost time for Tinley! I wish I was going...That's a pretty good strategy to make Dolly reappear- buy another snake.

Don't lose hope. Just keep an eye out. He should turn up.
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Yeah, I think of it like a childless couple that adopts only to find soon after that they are expecting. I was talking to my husband because I want him to go to Tinley and involve him in picking out and bring home my second corn. Of course, I broke down when I actually said the words. He was so sweet and supportive.

The good news is that processing grief doesn't mean giving up hope. I know it has only been a week and corns can turn up even a year later.

I wish you were going to be at Tinley, too. :) <3
 
Tinley would be so cool! I just checked the map online and it's about 800 miles away :cry: ... so I don't think I'll be swinging by for a visit! But if I could, I would. And should you pick out a new snake there, it was there for you! It was hatched so YOU could take it home and care for it! Have fun at the show, wish I lived near Chicago.
 
kdickens said:
Tinley would be so cool! I just checked the map online and it's about 800 miles away :cry: ... so I don't think I'll be swinging by for a visit! But if I could, I would. And should you pick out a new snake there, it was there for you! It was hatched so YOU could take it home and care for it! Have fun at the show, wish I lived near Chicago.
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Thanks. I feel blessed to live so close to Tinley. It's literally 20 minutes from my home. I wish you could go. Thanks for your kind thoughts about my finding a second precious snakey.
 
I am so sorry to hear about Dolly still missing I have been stalking this thread all week and have been really thinking about you!! I wanted to tell you a story. It's about a dog, not a snake, but I figured I would try to send you some positive vibes :)
I work in a veterinary clinic and all the time, people bring in stray pets to check identification tags, scan for a microchip, etc. A couple weeks ago, a lady brought in this scruffy little terrier mix dog, scrawny and flea ridden - but DYING for you to pet and play with him!! The type of dog you could tell loved people, and had been loved at some point in his life before then. All he had was a little name tag on his collar that said "Tucker". We scanned him for a microchip, and he had one, but it was not registered to any owner - just a veterinary clinic. OUR veterinary clinic! I looked up the chip number and saw that his owners had not been in to see us in over SIX years. I tried calling the information we had in our system, but all numbers were disconnected.

As I was discussing how close (yet how far) we were to reuniting this dog with his owners, another client overheard the story. She just happened to overhear me say the address the account was under, and recognized the address as being TWO doors down from her. She knew that the dog's owners had relocated to Texas due to military deployment FIVE years ago. She also knew the wife's cousin, who she had contact info for.

Long story short, this dog moved with his family to Texas, and then got lost at a dog park within a week of moving. Somehow, HE TRAVELED ALL THE WAY BACK TO WASHINGTON STATE and even back to the same neighborhood that he had lived in before. He sure looked rough. We took care of him, and ended up transporting him to the airport to send him back to Texas to his owners who were DUMBFOUNDED that we had found THEIR dog Tucker not 2 miles from his old home half way across the country!!!!

Animals know love.

Never give up hope!! Definitely move forward when you are ready, but never give up :D
 
Thanks for the beautiful story, Zimmer. Love is an incredible bond.

Dolly is deeply loved. Each day I keep my eyes open hoping to find him, pray for his safety, and pray to be reunited. The good news is that there has been nothing to indicate that there is any death in the house. And like I said, the viv is being kept at the ready.
 
Okay! Tinley is coming up fast. Since you have the ability to 'pick and choose' instead of like Dolly (who was adopted) what are you looking to find? I know you've been thinking about it!
 

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kdickens said:
Okay! Tinley is coming up fast. Since you have the ability to 'pick and choose' instead of like Dolly (who was adopted) what are you looking to find? I know you've been thinking about it!
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I adopted Dolly, as in I didn't give birth to him, but I picked him out and bought him. He was not a rescue. It was total love the first minute I saw him which is why I ended up buying him in a store and not online or at a show. Still no sign of him, but I don't walk from one room to the next without hoping and looking.

I love the belly checkers, but I will know what snake is mine when I see it. Yeah, I've been thinking about it over and over again. No decisions. Just want to make sure the new baby is not trying to replicate Dolly. I love normals so much so maybe an Okeetee or some other kind of normal. Or maybe something completely different.

Thanks for asking. I'll definitely be back here more. I love this forum and the people here. I Just had to take a break as part of the grief process.
 
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