this might end up fairly longwinded so i appreciate anybody taking the time to read it.some of the details may be irrelevant but im mentioning them just in case.

i bought a baby royal python a few weeks ago. i bought it on a monday and the lady in the shop said it was due a feed on the same thursday. for the first few days i had to keep it in a fairly small tank which i dont think was very homely as it was more like a fish tank. however i did handle the snake as often as i could and physically it seemed fine. but it wouldnt eat. i then got a proper sized tank and heat mats etc and turned it into a quite nice place and overall the snake seemed to be pretty happy but still no joy. one mouse went off after it accidentally got left on the heated side of the tank. after that i tried another mouse and the snake still didnt seem interested at all. i even tried braining it and placing it in a hidden position for the snake to attack (outside of the tank). still no luck.

then last friday (8 days after it was due a feed) i was planning to force feed the snake. this was going to be the big day. the tank sits under the television and there's always about 4 or 5 of us around watching so its not uncommon for me to leave the tank doors opened. and until friday night the snake seemed like it had no intention of getting out. just seemed happy wandering the tank. but its not like i'd keep it open overnight. however, i left the house to pick up my friends and within the 20mins (max) that i was gona, the snake managed to get out. what's worse is that there was still 1 friend watching tv while this happened.

now its not the best for you to imagine this without photos (which i still might try and get) but theres only certain gaps that my friend could see from the position he was in, mainly due to a coffee table being in the way.

anyway its now loose in the house and weve searched high and low to try and find it.

we're pretty certain that it couldnt have gotten outside. we flipped the sofas and there was something inside one of them that completely seemed and sounded like the snake when the sofa was elevated but we tried cutting inside the bottom base and couldnt even see anything. the most likely place i personally think (especially given that my friend saw nothing) is directly behind the tv and all the wires and stuff, there is this dark cupboard thing built into the wall, but more disturbing, houses a small gap for some wires which go into the wall and that gap would be easily accessible for the snake. we have placed a heat mat in the cupboard and regularly check but no luck. ive also got a torch into that gap to see what i could see and it doesnt seem like theres much beyond there but who knows.

anyway thats my story and i would appreciate any help and advice.

thanks
kane

The most probable cause for it not eating is pure stress. New reptiles should ideally be left well alone for the first few weeks with no disturbances, except to feed and change the water to allow the animal to settle, if denied the oppertunity to settle the snake will become stressed and resultingly refuse to eat. Royals being a particularly shy species are rather prone to stress so shouldn't really have been handled for the first few weeks.

Force feeding should be an absolute last resort as the act of forceifly feeding the snake could potentially induce fatal levels of stress.

There are other methods to encourage feeding such as warming - trying different methods of, warming (hairdryer/hot water-loose in the water or in a plastic bag) scenting (with rabbit fur, adult mouse, rat, chick etc - scenting with the outer body or innards, scenting with bedding) trying another food item such as chick, gerbil rat of equal size eat, changing the time at which you feed (ideally at night when the snake would naturally be more active) leaving the mouse outside of the snakes hide over night or putting snake inside a small plastic tub so the snake would be in close quaters with the mouse and only have said mouse to focus on...there's a few steps here you could try before resorting to drastic measures like force feeding.

Also how often were you offering? - When my corns go off their food I only offer weekly, offering too often could simply make it a habit of the snake to refuse food when a mouse is presented to it. Offering weekly allows the snake to build up more of an appitite making food that much more tempting. Snakes can go several months without food with no serious health problems, I'd only start to really worry after 2 months.

Snakes tend to move arond mostly at night, I'd recommend closing all doors to other rooms while you're not their so you can at least keep it confined to one room. Keep checking in all those small and unusual gaps, and keep in mind that they are excellent climbers too! You could also leave some water out for it.

If you do find your snake which I hope very much hope that you do, i'd highly recommend keeping the enclosure shut from now on unless you're physically reaching in for something, even if you are supervising becuase it only takes that single moment of distraction for it to all go wrong!

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just wondered if you;d managed to find your snake yet?

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sorry, kane...
what can i say? ya blew it.
it is simply *incredible* to me that anyone would be in the habit!! of leaving a reptarium OPEN... particularly as snakes are notorious escape-artists, even from tanks with locks.

snakes are muscle from one end to the other. they can fit into amazingly narrow spaces; they can DIE in impossible places, like the innards of a refrigerator-motor compatment, searching for warmth.

leaving the tank open, with WATER in it, the heat-mat under the tank, a heat-emitter over the tank, and a CAGED mouse inside it, in a small wire enclosure, is the best suggestion i have.

i would also notify the neighbors...
so that no one takes a broom or shovel to a harmless species!
and the local ACC - so that if someone TURNS * IN the escapee, they know that U lost one.

good luck... and if U get this snake back, OR if U get another snake... Ever!! - don;t leave the bloody tank open.
not for a second, never ever.

still a bit stunned at this one,
--- terry

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

i agree with everything terry said, my snakes are kept in there vivs and i put a lock on them so nothing like this could ever happen

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We can learn a lot from shelter dogs; for
example, no matter how much you have
been hurt in the past, there's someone who
wants to love you.

Opinions ain't facts, take them in and let them go.

Make 2 or 3 bottle traps and place them on the floor next to the wall in various parts of the room. Put a mouse into each one so that it has somehting there to tempt it into the trap.

Place some flour onto the floor around the edge of the room (this will give you an idea as to where the snake has been by leaving trails in the flour).

When searching ensure to look in every possible nook and cranny (I once had my Corn leg it for a couiple of hours and I found it curled up around the PSU inside my computer, luckily I'd switched the computer off a short while before the Corn decided to go exploring).


here's a link to show you how to make a bottle trap.
Bottle Trap Link

Good luck with finding your snake. Let us know how you get on.

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1 Corn Snake (Sid, Female)
See Her Live Here

Phasmids I have Kept

look under your settee an chairs, ive lost my corn for 3 months , glady he waS found 3 months later, after some one found him on stairs in my block, id go next dooor either way an , tell them not to worry , also it will be in a place were is dark an an shadey, one of my corns that was good @ getting out spent in speaker, lol it wasnt till i turn it on thAT,it came crawling out . but try the bottle traps there good ideas, hope you get it back

BUMP

so my friend phoned me up today and said he was getting a pizza out of the freezer and saw something move underneath, and long story short IT TURNS OUT IT WAS MY SNAKE!!!!

it seemed like it was kind of jammed but in the end we managed to get it out. it looks weak and frail, which im guessing is completely expected but also i think the fact that it looks like its shredded its skin will be a factor in this.

anyway, a while after i lost the snake i bought another one. same kind (baby royal python) and more than likely the same tank in the shop (same litter aswell i'd imagine). i remember back then the woman said that if the lost snake showed up they could both live in the tank so long as i completely empty out and then re-arrange the tank, and put in the lost snake first, followed by the newer/current snake. is this true?

also, how should i go about feeding the newly-found snake? should i attempt feeding it a pinky or will it not be used to food this size or what?

i would appreciate any help with what to do now thanks!

if this were my snake, i would be going to a herp-vet ASAP -
and offering the poor thing as much water as they;ll drink, too.

the snake may need sub-Q fluids - if the animal WILL eat, fine + good, but start **small* and frequent -
offer food 2 to 3x per week, ALONE. take the new-snake Out of the Vivarium, confine safely for the short-term,
offer a meal to the emaciated snake, AFTER that one has eaten + is resting - approx 30-mins or more after the meal -
i would return the new-snake to the tank. ALLOW 2 to 3 days before U attempt handling, after s/he eats!

the other snake should not need feeding more often than every 7 to 10-days, which means feed *skinny*, wait 2 to 3 days,
gently remove *skinny* to a safe-place, feed New-Snake, WAIT 30 to 45-mins post meal, replace *skinny* in shared tank.

if *skinny* is very weak, then extra-heat may be needed - turn-up the warmth at the warm-end of the tank
by approx 5-degrees Fahrenheit.

good luck, i hope s/he makes it...
--- terry

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

appreciate it, thanks.

just put some water in front of it. my brother kind of gently dipped it in the water and i left the room, when i came back he said it just opened its mouth really wide and then appeared to look dead. we actually thought it was dead and its mouth was still slightly open but it started moving again so i think it was maybe just the sudden coldness/hydration of the water affecting it and the fact it probably hadnt had much action moving its mouth.