Snake on the loose

[Tori]

As the title says I wasn't careful enough during feeding and one of the subadult garters got loose in the house. After tearing the house apart I still couldn't find him and since I had just fed them I knew that he wouldn't be coming out on his own for a few days at least. So, all I could do was wait. While checking on a prego bearded dragon I just happened notice something out of the corner of my eye....a small garter sunning under her heat lamp. Escapee is returned to his cage safely. If the bearded dragon had not been so close to laying she would have had him for supper, lucky for him.

[krystalirelan@southslope.]

congrats on finding him so quickly. I lost 7 baby corns once (hubby did not latch the lid). We had lost all hope and then one day, about 2 months later, cleaning the bathroom I picked up the trash can and one was under there. I actually walked away. I was half way down the hall before it registered!

[GarterGirl]

It's a good thing you didn't lose your snake!

[drache]

Tori
I bet you were relieved when you saw him - whew!

Krystal
did you ever find any more of your corns?

[Gyre]

My girl got loose a few months back. It was a race to find her before my terrier did. lol I found her safe and sound when I was half way under my bed, searching in a panic and felt something slither up my pant leg. xD Thank God.

[Tori]

LMAO....Now how many people would be able to say that and mean it?
I found her safe and sound when I was half way under my bed, searching in a panic and felt something slither up my pant leg. xD Thank God. Only a true reptile lover!

[drache]

The first time we lost our large king snake, we didn't even know it.
We'd all been hanging out on the couch with the snake and then we all got busy and forgot about the snake.
I need to mention here that we've had a history of water leaks in this apartment and once we had concrete sludge run down a heater pipe from upstairs. So when I heard the subtle dripping sounds I was instantly alert and went to investigate.
The sound came from an open passage between the hallway and the living room. There is shelving on both sides of that passage and whitish stuff was dripping down between the shelves. My first thought was "Oh crap - their plaster got too runny upstairs and it's coming down my wall. That thought only lasted a moment before I saw . . .
Thankfully I've never lost any of my garters. They'd be a lot harder to find than this big guy

[KITKAT]

About ten years ago, when I had my first garters, I lost four of them on different occasions. Two went AWOL in my office, and were never found, even when we tore the room apart to carpet and paint it. But we did discover a crack where the wall meets the foundation, and figure they went walkabout outdoors.

Fortunately, they were native species.

Then later, I lost two in my basement. The male resurfaced MANY months later (6 or 7). I saw him under the stairwell, poking his head out and looking around, and was able to catch him.

After returning him to a viv, he ate three pinkies that week! But he seemed to have lost weight, but was not emaciated and had stayed in fairly good shape. The floor down there is about 65 degrees, and there is an open sump pump well where he could get water, so I figure the low temps and the available water enabled him to live that long.

However, the female was never found... and she was gravid!:eek: :(

And I don't think she came up the stairs, because our cats would have preyed on her... so I never did figure out where she went!:confused:

[GarterGuy]

Never had any of my garters get out, but when I was younger my big PI King had gotten out a couple times (usually....ok, always my fault)...funny thing was she'd never get "lost". She would just cruise the room (my bedroom) and just destroy stuff. She knocked pictures of the walls, tore up carpeting, cleaned off my night stands and dressers and even pulled down curtains. I'd get home to a trashed room and just find her coiled up asleep some where. One time she was all curled up in the sock drawer taking a nap!:cool:
Roy

[drache]

yep, that's what mine does - he cruises around for a while. He has a favourite hiding place. It's a place where I can't get him, but he always gets bored after a while and starts cruising again. He likes high places.

[abcat1993]

I was cleaning his cage on my floor with him in it, and he jumped out. Luckily he hadn't planned on what to do after he was out, so, I scooped him up, got musked on, and went on cleaning.

[krystalirelan@southslope.]

I never found any more of the babies but my adult male greeted me one morning as I got out of the shower. I'm still not sure how he got out as the cage was sealed up tight when I went to put him back. Even thou no one fessed up to it I have my suspissions:rolleyes:

[stonyloam]

I found this in the web, Google search “nuisance snakes NY”.


Direct capture methods and live traps for non-venomous snakes:
Pick them up, wearing heavy leather gloves for protection. Support the snake's entire body to keep it calm. Hold snakes behind the head, to keep them from biting you.
With care, snakes can also be captured with a "snake stick," which is a catchpole modified for snakes. A forked stick can also be used (carefully!) to pin down a snake.
They can be scooped into a garbage can using a scoop or shovel.
To live trap water snakes, add a brick-sized piece of Styrofoam to a minnow trap (so the trap will float, allowing the snake to surface for air). Bait with about a half-dozen minnows. Attach a rope to the trap for easy retrieval, then float it in near the shoreline.
If the snakes can't be found, you can lure them to a spot where they can be easily captured. Place piles of damp towels or burlap sacks on the floor, near the walls. Cover the pile with a dry burlap bag to keep it moist. In a few days, return to the pile during the middle of the day, when the snakes are most likely to be there. Scoop up the pile with a large shovel, put it into a large garbage can, and carry it outside.
Several variations on the above technique: Use a board or a piece of plywood instead of the pile of towels or burlap sacks. Place some decomposing grass clippings on top of the board, which should be 1" off the ground. Dead mice or mouse droppings placed underneath the board will help to attract snakes. Check every few days. This technique works well with garter snakes and black rat snakes, but is not as effective with water snakes.
Create a reptile tube trap, based on a technique suggested by HSUS animal capture consultant, Dave Pauli. Inside this trap, the temperature should be just right for the snake—more appealing than the surrounding area. The trap is a piece of thin-walled PVC tubing that's 2–3 ft. long. Drill a few 1/8" air holes along the length of the tube. Cap one end. In cold weather, place a disposable hand warmer, battery-operated electric sock, or heating pad in the far end of the tube, along with some soft cotton rags. If you have fresh rodent droppings, you may want to toss a few in there, too. (In hot weather, substitute an ice pack or cold, wet rag for the heat source.) Then drill a 1" hole into a cap and use it to cover the other end of the tube. Although the snakes can leave the trap, they usually stay inside because it's more comfortable for them. You can install a one- way valve by affixing a 1 1/2" stiff plastic circle over the inside of the cap. The snake can push its way in, but can't leave easily. (This trap also works with other reptiles, such as lizards.)

[abcat1993]

Sweet, thanks for the ideas; I'll be trying these at my grandparents house :D

[KITKAT]

The little male we discussed earlier, who lived under my stairs all winter and was finally captured... was baited with a ceramic dog dish full of water and bait store minnows.:D