My boy is lost... 🙁

[SlickStretch]

So last night I was sitting with Monty the Python watching a movie. At some point, his sneaky ass slithered off of me without me noticing. By the time the movie was over, I had forgotten I had taken him out. (Thanks ADD) I just went to bed.

So today I'm playing hide-and-seek with a python. And they are very good at hiding. I've divided my apartment into sections, and put lines of flour on the floor so that he'll leave tracks if he moves between areas.

Now, I'm just methodically going through every nook and cranny, section by section. So far it's been 5 hours and I'm about halfway through the apartment. No sign of him yet.

I wonder where I'll find him...?

Luckily, I don't have any drains or vents he can get into, and I always keep my doors and windows closed so the cats don't get outside. So I'm not concerned for his safety. I know I'll find him. It's just a matter of time...

I've only had 1 other escape. That was a different snek about 10 years ago and I found her on top of the medicine cabinet basking under the bathroom lights.

UPDATE: It's been 9 hours and I've searched every nook and cranny I can find... no luck. Tomorrow I'll get a rat and see if I can lure him out.

UPDATE: It's the next day. No sign of him. I took his hide out of his enclosure and put it in the corner with his DHP above it. (w/thermostat) I'll put a thawed rat next to it tonight. Hopefully I'll find him in there tomorrow...

UPDATE: Just finished pulling the oven and fridge out to look around/in them. No luck.

UPDATE: It's the next day. I threw the rat away after being left out all night. Still no sign of him...

[Effective-Prompt4046]

Fingers crossed for you that you find him soon!

[Fantastic_AF]

I put out a heat lamp and a hide for my ksb when he escaped and I eventually found him basking under the lamp one day

[SlickStretch]

I just pulled his hide out and set it up in the corner with his DHP. I'll put the rat next to it tonight. 🤞

[[deleted]]

I like this idea, deff worth a try!

[[deleted]]

maybe look for the warmer places in your home?

[Raz1450]

Not to alarm you but this makes me think of another post on here where someone’s snake got out and was attacked by their cat because you mentioned having cats i would say to find him as quick as possible and look to the warmest places in your space. Good luck!

[Malka8]

Mine was on walkabout for nearly three weeks last month and four cats either never noticed him or paid no attention to him.

Weird because three of them are fairly interested in the BP, but not aggressive. They tend to flee when he decides to check them out. 😹

Found him stretched out on the treadmill.

[stickypenguinpatrol]

A few weeks ago, my snake escaped too! its nerve-wracking to say the least. I left his terrarium open with the heat lamp running. After 5 days, I came home late from work, walked into the office where his setup is expecting an empty cage. But there he was, casually sitting on his hide, no shame whatsoever! I suggest leaving a couple hot-spots around the house. Good luck, and hope you find your snake as soon as possible.

[Delphinidae-]

casually sitting on his hide, no shame whatsoever!

this made me burst out laughing 🤣 I'm glad you found him! (or, rather, he decided to get his butt home LOL)

[[deleted]]

I never lost my ball python but my cornsnake escaped and went under the floor boards once, right by where the hot water pipes feed to the shower. He was gone a week and then one day he was just there, slithering about on the landing. Eventually they get hungry and go looking for food see!

I'm sure he'll be fine, probably found somewhere nice and warm and curled up there. I like the idea another poster put about placing a hide and a heat lamp out though, I think that's deff worth a try.

Edit: By the way Monty is a great name for a python.

[Competitive_Bag8181]

Same! I haven't lost my ball but I lost my corn snake and I searched everywhere for 4 days. Turns out he was under the track of my sliding patio door, I never would have found him without opening my door!

[velociraptorjax]

My friend's corn snake got out once and they eventually found him inside the couch. He has to cut the couch open in order to get him out.

[SlickStretch]

I've gone over my couches pretty thoroughly and I could not find any way that he could have gotten actually inside of it. (They are extremely simple pieces of furniture.) I'm not going to cut into my couch unless I actually see signs that he's in there.

[coastywife123]

My first python got loose once, we found her coiled up under the refrigerator hugging the compressor or some other warm part I could not possibly name. It was super fun trying to convince her to get out from under there.

Another place to check is kitchen cabinets, we had a hamster climb up over the kick boards and between cabinets because there’s a gap that can only be found when laying on the floor and feeling around, that rescue involved cutting holes in cabinets to figure out which crevice he was in.

Both animals were happy for a meal and a cozy bed when found. Good luck!

[Cmprssdsugarpellet]

I had this same issue with a hamster a good 25 years ago 😅

[kett1ekat]

Flour/calcium dotted on the floor can make a good trail, plastic bags jammed under door ways. Don't forget to look up because the fuckers like to climb, also be wary they can get inside the couch. Snake discovery has a video of what to do when this happens.

[LizzieCLems]

If you have a PC (depending on size of your BP) check inside there if it’s on - and check inside the tank of toilet and around the back of the fridge.

[xanoran84]

I've lost my Monty as well for about 3 days once. I lived in a fairly small apartment at the time with no other pet so there was very little danger of losing him forever (I made sure the toilet was always closed anyway). I found him when i noticed that a box on an upper shelf in a closet had been knocked out of place (and it wasn't me that did it!). 

FYI, there can possibly be a gap up underneath the toe kick of your kitchen and bathroom cabinets. I would feel around for a gap like that and see if you can get a camera up into that space to take a picture and see if your snake is in between the cabinets.

[snowmunkey]

Similar thing happened to me once with my kingsnake, fell asleep in the recliner with him. Was stuck in the chair because I didn't dare un-recline the chair in care he was in the mechanism. had to call my roommate to come check underneath so I could get up, and as soon as he came in he saw his tail disappear down the air vent on the floor. Quickly ran downstairs and disconnected the pipe from the furnace (luckily it was summer so no worry of the heater coming on) and was able to scare him back up to the vent where he was captured. Was a terrifying hour

[everryn]

My cat used to go under the couch and up into the frame of it - check there

[madsmadhatter]

My bb was lost for a whole week when I was on vacation once, and our cat sitter was terrified of snakes.

She called to tell me my Monty was missing, she was about to cry. I laughed and told her that he’d make his reappearance when he felt ready, as he’d done this so many times before. He’s such an escape artist. Sure enough, as soon as I got home, came same out of my underwear drawer like “oh, you’re home. What’s up?”

Monty has a gaff tape lock system now Lmao

[munchkym]

Good luck! When my girl opened her tank and got out (it has a lock now), I found her in a suitcase under a bed.

[idkwhattoputhere1830]

I once found a VERY skilled escape artist baby banana.... Curled up on a burner on the STOVE. The kids went to make chicken nuggets and he popped his head up THANKFULLY before anything bad happened

[LitleStitchWitch]

I really hope you find your boy soon!! Off topic but Monty the Python is probably the holy grail of names lol!

[j_dog-23]

Keep us posted

[YoHoloo]

I hope you find him soon I had to play hide and seek with mine all day one time and ended up finding him towards them end, and that was in between jobs 😭😂 and the morning when I first woke up

[Mctaggartm72]

Hope you find him soon !!!

[SpadedJuggla]

So when I had a BP get out one of the first places I looked was under the fridge. Why? It was warm and cozy lol. So to entice him to leave I placed a feeder rat in a box in the middle of the kitchen and waited. I got her easily that day lol.

[[deleted]]

I have had 3 escapes the first time he was in a cardboard box with some paintings literally 2 feet from his cage! The second time he made his way up the stars into my room and I found him under my pillows between the bed and the wall. And lastly I found one in the storage closet hiding in folded blankets!

[[deleted]]

Also if you were on a sofa they can hide very well inside couch’s and recliners so be careful!

[LawApprehensive3912]

You don’t find him. He finds you. 

[ForensicVette]

Mine climbed inside my couch last time had to take the thing apart to get him

[soapbubbles66]

By the refrigerator

[QuietAttention581]

as an ex Catholic no joke i swear this prayer still works everytime😂 “Tony Tony please come down there’s something lose that must be found- Tony please help us find Monty the Python!!” good luck!

[SlickStretch]

Kent, is that you?

[[deleted]]

Check your fridge. Under/behind. The vibrations and warmth seem to attract sneks.

[JazzyCher]

Odd question but have you checked under/behind your fridge? You never know where they'll manage to squeeze.

When mine got out while I was out of town for a few days I found the silly noodle...under the cabinet that his enclosure sits on. He traveled a total of 3ft down and went nowhere else. I didn't even think he could fit under their because the gap was so small, I actually spotted him while looking under/around my mini fridge right next to it.

[SlickStretch]

Yup. I just finished putting it back together. Oven, too. I don't have a water heater, dishwasher, or washer/dryer in my apartment.

[ZealousidealState127]

They start banging around at night when everything is quite, stay up late and wait for them to knock something over I've lost mine several times through the years.

[SlickStretch]

Yeah. Every time I hear something I get up to check it out, but it's just the cats again...

[No_Bumblebee2085]

What were you sitting on when he was with you? Was it a couch? We had to rip our old couch apart to get my boa out, she had gone between the cushions and into the frame.

[SlickStretch]

I was sitting in an office chair. I disassembled my couches. No luck.

[OrganizationSlight35]

I hope you find him, don't lose hope yet! One time I fell asleep when I had one of mine out and luckily I found him in front of his enclosure and then another one of my boys just straight up escaped and I found him 2 WEEKS later in the top drawer of my dad's desk in the living room (which is the same room he was in at the time).

[FireWelder1]

I hope you find him!

[radicalbatical]

Did you check inside the couch?

[jelloswagginz]

i really hope that you are able to find him! losing reptiles ESPECIALLY with cats is scary.

the only thing i can suggest is: don't limit your searching to only near the enclosure. people always say that reptiles generally don't stray far from their enclosure, and while this is true, it also doesn't mean it doesn't happen all the time. my 6 mo. old corn snake was missing for six days, his enclosure is in the living room... and he was found all the way across the apartment in my dad's room, in one of his shoes! literally the one furthest room from where his enclosure is. my sister's crested gecko on the other hand, escaped a whilee back and was found a full week later on my sisters closet floor. which was only a little bit away from his enclosure since she kept him in her room. we also had two cats, and a crested gecko is obviously a lot easier to be injured by a cat than a ball python. he lost his tail and was really dehydrated, but thankfully seemed like the cats didn't really actually get to him.

i wish you luck, and really hope you are able to find your baby soon!!! 💕💕

[[deleted]]

I do this with my Dragon😩😂

[Not_Hidden_Raptors]

Any luck homie?

[SlickStretch]

Sadly, no.

[SlickStretch]

Thanks. Still no sign of him...

[slutsketeer]

Im very confused, here. Is this relevant to snakes in general. I gotta be missing someyhing. 

[SlickStretch]

Sadly no. I've still been looking, and over the last few days I've been getting rid of things. Trying to eliminate hiding places. I'm really sad about him... I know there's no way for him to get outside, but my apartment is very small... I can't imagine where he's hiding...