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Someone please help me find my baby

C

ciaralynne87

New member
2 days ago i came home from dinner to realize my 4 foot corn snake was not awake. He is always up at least poking his head out of his favorite hut. So feeling a bit strange I searched his cage. HES GONE! I looked and looked for 2 days now flipping my hole apartment upside down with no luck. By the end of day 1 I was crying hysterically all night. I am so depressed. Someone please help me with suggestions on how to find him. I have taken our plumbing apart and used a see snake (drain snake with camera on end). And layed down blankets and huts in every room. I also put his water dish on the floor and his cage open with a mouse inside in case he gets hungry. Its driving me crazy i just want my baby back so someone please HELP ME!!
 
oh and i was looking to hire a professional reptile rescue company in my local area and wanted to know opinions about it
 
More background.
Where was his enclosure, what kind of house what floor of the house, etc, etc?
 
I wouldn't go to that extreme just yet. There are a ton of posts here about the very same things, and I think the majority of people have found their beasts none the worse for wear. Do you see the "search" option on the top of this page? If you type in "escape" or "lost" even "trap" you will probably find a lot of information. Try looking at night, and look in warm places such as vcr's, printers, heat vents, etc. Putting trails of flour around these areas will also help as it will give you a basic direction that he's headed as he slithers through it. They don't really seem to go far, so look in all the crevices of the room he was in, as more than likely he'll still be in that room if there are any warm spots.

Good luck!
 
im in the top (second) floor apartment. his enclosure was on our bar between the kitchen and living room. I am thinking he came down towards the water heater closet. Is there anyway he could have gotten into the water heater?? Thank you so much for replying I will give you updates!
 
Probably not IN the water heater, but under it if there is a space. Start at his viv and make a thorough search of every possible place he could possibly fit into. Look high and low, and especially inside things. Work your way out from his viv area (they tend not to wander too far at first). Since you are in an apartment, you should be able to search the whole thing fairly quickly and easily. Once you've done a thorough search, do it all again. I've found escaped snakes in a spot I know I looked in a previous search or two. Snakes have been found in drawers and containers you wouldn't think they would be in so if you think he can't be someplace, look anyway. Good luck!
 
thank you for your help. i plan on doing a "spring cleaning" today and going through things and then taking them out of my apartment. I also have a search party including my mom, stepdad, brother, and best friend coming over to help search. i figured the more people the better chance of finding him. But we are pretty sure there is no way he got out of out apartment. I will keep all of you updated. Any more suggestions will be greatly appreciated
 
Wait until after dark, when the apartment has been quiet for about an hour. Tiptoe around with a flashlight and look carefully everywhere, especially around the perimeter of each room. Repeat every hour that you are awake (until sunrise).

Use masking tape (not duct tape!) to dangle strips on the walls (sticky side out), having the free end barely touch the floor. Put them randomly on the walls in any room the snake might be in. Use vegetable oil to get snake unstuck if it catches him.

Use flour or toothpicks around perimeters of rooms he may be in, to discover which one he is in when the flour or toothpicks are disturbed (probably at night). Seal off any holes (near pipes or other openings), doors, etc. Put towels or something similar around each door threshold, to keep snake in or out of that room, preventing movement to new areas.

Put out some comfy, dark hides, just big enough for the snake to fit in, maybe scented with mouse shavings. Check often in case he decides to shelter in one.

They like really small spaces, so check in laundry hampers, shoes and boots, and any other cramped area, especially if it is nice and warm there.

Good luck!
 
He's too big to stay hidden for long. i second Kathy's advice- after dark, do sneaky flashlight searches, over and over and over again.
 
I had an adult king escape for 6 months, found him by stacking empty beer cans across the doorways, and checking the the next day.
The area with the beer cans knocked over is where you start searching.
If you're lucky you can hear them falling over.
I found him in the crack UNDER the boiler in the basement.
I wondered why he was under there, until I was looking at him, and the boiler fired up. It got nice and warm down there.
I had to hold a mouse by his tail and let the snake strike him, and pull the snake out by the mouse's tail.
He had no food or water for 6 months, and was no worse for wear except a bit thirsty, and covered with dust bunnies.

I had a juvenile escape for over a year, and found him.
He escaped from a 3rd floor attic, I found him in a non-attached garage in the middle of winter, at about 15-20 degrees on a cold cement floor.
He was stiff and cold. They're both still alive today, but the juvenile suffered some nerve damage from starvation and freezing. He can't lift his head up to strike and hold it steady. He can still eat by himself, but it takes 3-4 tries to strike a thawed mouse while I'm holding it just right with tweezers. He doesn't strike accurately at all. That being said, he loves people. He makes NO attempts to escape, and he will just hang out with you all night and makes no attempt to get away. I wouldn't recommend this method as a training tool, but he acts completely different before and after. You'd never know he was damaged goods until you saw him eat. You could hang out with him for 24 hours straight, and not see any problems.
The adult is now 20-25 years old, and still in perfect health, now 5 feet long. He doesn't mind being a lap snake, but if you leave him unattended for an hour or two he'll be gone again.
 
I had a very small (8"-9") garter snake escape about 2 weeks ago. I looked everywhere twice and was bummed since this is the first time I ever had a snake get out. A week later I walked into my bedroom and saw something move out of the corner of my eye, she was trying to get into the closet, less than 3 feet from where her tank was. I tried toothpicks at all the doorways and random flashlight searches at night but she never left the bedroom. Good luck, I think a 4' snake should turn up sooner or later.
 
Darlin', please don't get over excited about my post. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about.

I'd suggest shoving a towel under your apartment door, or a babygate with no holes on the staircase or something. If the snake gets into the apartment of someone who does not like snakes, that could be a bad situation. If your neighbors know he's missing, make sure they won't harm him or throw him outside if they see him. Perhaps you could supply fearful neighbors with a bucket or a shoebox or a net they could set over him to keep him in one place until you are able to get to him.

A long time ago, I remember someone losing a gray snake (an anery corn, I think) in their mom's house, and their mom thinking it was wild and putting it outside. That gal was just heartbroken. Make sure anyone else living in your building knows he's missing. At night, corns are capable of surprising travel.

Think as if you were the size and shape of your snake. You like dark places, you like warm places.. Where would you go?

I hope you find him, and I'm sure you will. Once you find him, you'll probably say "Now, why didn't I look here sooner?!" He could also slip somewhere you've already looked, so keep that in mind!

Good luck.
 
Be careful of recliners with moving parts or fold-a-beds with pinch pints. Snakes don't read warning labels.
 
thank you all so much for the advice i still havent found him. but i will not give up hope. i know someday and sometime he will slip up and i will get him back
 
Darn, thought it was the "I found my snakey" post.
I keep thinking he won't leave the building in the cold.
 
I FOUND HIM!!!! yesterday i opened the cabinet under the sink and to my suprise there was Kain happily shedding his skin. He was not harmed, a little dehydrated, but fine and is now in his cage. I secured it very well this time. I am not going through the heartache of losing him again. Thank you all so much for your support it was nice to have somewhere to go for advice about something truly special in my life
 
ciaralynne87 said:
I FOUND HIM!!!! yesterday i opened the cabinet under the sink and to my suprise there was Kain happily shedding his skin. He was not harmed, a little dehydrated, but fine and is now in his cage. I secured it very well this time. I am not going through the heartache of losing him again. Thank you all so much for your support it was nice to have somewhere to go for advice about something truly special in my life
Click to expand...
:dancer::dancer::dancer: Brilliant news!
 
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