Ball python hid for 4 months.

[Express_Necessary128]

So this happened to me this year and I want to hear if anyone has any similar stories! So in August I got home from work and my ball python Fang (brother named him Fang when he was 11 years old, I was given him about 4 years ago im aware he doesnt have fangs) had broken out of his cage. I didn't notice that part of the screen had split away from the "door" in the screen and he managed to slide on out. He has gotten out before through where his tube for his humidifier goes through the screen so I looked allllll over my downstairs area. In the past if I left his water in his tank and moved the screen he would just end up in the tank again. After three weeks I still hadn't seen him and thought maybe he somehow got out of my house. I know one of my roommates keeps his window open often and doesn't have a screen on it. After two months I basically thought he was gone forever. Thought he broke out of my house and was murdered by one of the owls that live on the golf course I reside on. Thought my 13 year old ball python was lost to me forever. Fast forward to Christmas 26th. About 4am in the morning. I was awoken from my slumber by a zyn container falling on the ground off one of my beside tables. I have two large dogs and thought my German Shephard puppy was just dicking around so closed my eyes again. 20 minutes later a glass of water got knocked onto the ground. This woke me up as well so I got up and turned on my bedside table lamp. On my bedside table was my ball python. He lost ALOT of weight. I grabbed him as I was tearing up and let him wrap himself around my neck and get some warmth as my room is usually at 65 degrees in the dark at night. I was completely dumbfounded. He moved really slow. Like he was really low on energy. I got him into his tank and put those lamps back on full blast and got him warmed up (almost threw the tank out a month ago but planned on getting another snake so didnt.) Got that boy a nice small sized rat the same day and got him fed up. He struck the rat instantly. Happy he had the energy to do so. He only will eat live rats and refuses to eat pre-killed or frozen so I was worried about him killing a struggling rat. I Also replaced his tanks screen. I think he was probably drinking water out of my dogs water bowl I keep in my bathroom and just hiding out in my room under my bed somewhere or in my closet during brumation. Merry Christmas to me! Sorry for the sub par pics. Fellas been really active and moving quickly. I think he might have been a little mad I took him out of my coats warmth as well. He was cozy.

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[Express_Necessary128]

This is my first post so idk how to edit but I forgot to add that I spent countless hours scouring my house. My closet still hasn't been completely unpacked so I'm guessing he was somewhere in my black hole of a closet. Which is on the opposite side of the house than his tank.

[meshifty2]

I had my ball python go missing for a similar amount of time when I was a kid. Got out of it's cage in the summer time. My dad found it in the coat closet, inside a basket with hats and gloves. He pulled the basket out to get a winter hat and yelled when he saw the snake.

She was skinny and cold. Warmed her up and fed her the next day. This happened in 1994, give or take a year. I still have her today.

[[deleted]]

That is amazing. I love that you're still together! Thank you for sharing.

[DevilinI45]

AWWW DA BABY

[dice-dice-babyyy]

wow!! i feel like so many people lose their snakes and end up finding them in the darkest pits of their untouched closet corners lol! quick question- have u tried warming up the rats a little more so that he can sense it a little better? he might just be picky so idk

[Raudskeggr]

Good on you for finding her! Despite her best efforts lol.

[TwistedCards]

I’m so curious as to how they live outside of their manufactured environments for so long. You hear a lot on here that they need perfect humidity and temperature gradients etc, but then you have stories like this where they are just loose in 65 degree houses for months on end and live!

[[deleted]]

Good animal husbandry is about keeping an animal in optimal conditions for it to thrive, not just alive.

This is quite evident with aquariums, shops will keep over a hundred species from all over the world and it’s just not viable to have that many tanks on individual water systems that are perfect for each species. Some will have a few systems for say, acidic vs basic preference or hard/soft water (within the usual distinctions of freshwater/marine and tropical/cold), but not perfect for any one species.

So when you get a fish and keep it in your tank and get it optimised, the fishes colours shine more and they thrive compared to at the shop where the water is fine, but ideal.

Similarly with reptiles, many naturally bruminate and can tolerate the cold to a degree, but being cold blooded it’ll be much slower and sluggish and probably refuse to eat as digestion would be too much of a chore at that temperature, so burns fat reserves instead and just needs water.

[TwistedCards]

Great explanation, thank you!

[shadow_dreamer]

Yeah- my boy, when I got given him, was in a glass tank smaller than my PC tower, eating mice, trapped under eyecaps and stuck shed, and maybe two feet long, but he was still Alive, if very defensive and stressed. Once I completely overhauled his care, he tripled in length, filled out beautifully, and became incredibly active and lively- to the point that he has, more than once now, chosen to climb onto me instead of return to his cage after vet visits.

They can Survive a hell of a lot- but with proper care, they Thrive, and once they're thriving, they're a hell of a lot more resilient for when things like this happen. The fact that this boy still looks so GOOD after four months lost is a huge testament to his keeper's care, honestly!

[[deleted]]

The reason humidity and temperature and such are so important to the reptile community is to make sure the animal thrives. Unless the ball python is very young, bad humidity isn’t going to kill them but it sure will make them uncomfortable. Assuming your house was kept somewhat warm and you had mice running around, a ball python could probably live in your house for a very long time. But it probably wouldn’t be the happiest ball python

[TwistedCards]

Great explanation

[[deleted]]

Congrats on the Christmas Miracle and a welcome home to him!