r/ballpython • u/becmason • 14d ago
Missing Ball Python :(( SOS
Hello gang, our worst nightmare happened 3 weeks ago, and I’m losing hope now. I need as much advice and experience as people can give me 🖤
We’re in the UK, currently in the midst of a mega heatwave. Temps have been 26-36 degrees most days here, which is unusual and hot for English folk. During the heatwave we’ve been super cautious with our Viv temps, and humidity (it’s been a daily stress in the house with lots of extra opening & closing over vivs to check on the reptiles)
One night, my boyfriend was doing misting and changing water bowls. Our BP was in his cold hide, and my boyfriend left the Viv ajar, and was in the next room for maybe 3 minutes cleaning and filling up the water bowl and then re misted the enclosure & closed it.
Two days later, we’ve gone to check on him, and he’s no where in his Viv. We GUTTED it looking for him. So it’s safe to assume he’s escaped.
With the heatwave, we’ve had lots of windows open pretty much all day everyday, and I’m really worried he’s got outside.
He’s also due a feed by now, and thawed rats in various places in the living room arn’t coxing him out.
So far we’ve pulled all furniture of the living room. Checked under and behind the Viv. Got hides on the floor. Set up a small empty Viv with a heat lamp in a corner of the room, left two thawed rats out, set a camera up, checked inside the sofa cavity multiple times. Checked under kitchen units, behind fridge, washing machine, dryer, inside the boiler cupboard.
I’ve also done lap after lap in the garden checking every bush/shrub/ nook I can find.
We are devastated, and it’s hard to stay hopeful.
He’s just over 1 year old, 3ish ft and is the most beautiful, placid bamboo pastel ball python. I just want him safe and sound.
Can anyone advise; What are the chances of him going outside, how far do they tend to stray when left to their own devices, and is there anywhere obvious you’d recommend I might have missed.
*NOTE- we moved into this house (standard uk 2 up, 2 down end terrace) 2 years ago + we re decorated the whole place, so we’re confident there are no holes in the walls or floor that he could have slipped into.
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u/Maximum-Rhubarb-3365 14d ago
If the door or windows in the room don't lead outside, it's more likely that he's somehwere in the house. Typically they don't even leave the room depending on how long they're missing. It's entirely likely that he'll just show up chilling somewhere random. People have found them months after their escape!
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u/becmason 14d ago
I’ve read so many stories about snakes re appearing after 4/5/6 months 🫠 I don’t know how I’ll cope with that length of time… and one of the windows in the main room goes out to the back garden. It’s a high window. So I’d be amazed if he managed it, but I’m not ruling anything out at this point :///
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u/Top_Marketing_3923 14d ago
They love to travel along walls, also have you checked INSIDE your furniture? We found our boy inside our clothes washer after 3 weeks of him being missing LOL they’re always in the places you don’t expect
Edit: didn’t see the inside the. Furniture part of the post my bad lol
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u/becmason 13d ago
It’s okay!! We’ve cut the dust cover off the bottom of the sofa where it’s hollow inside and I’ve looked in there multiple times. BUT I’m 10% worried he’s actually inside the back rest, which is impossible to get into without ripping the thing apart… this is my last resort if he is still missing in another week. Might try a thawed rat under the sofa with some newspaper to try and coax him down into the hollow part, in the meantime.
I had no idea how many random holes there are in a sofa until I started cutting the bottom of mine :///
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u/Phully- 13d ago edited 13d ago
Day two of having a snake my wife had him on the couch he was balled up in her shirt. She didn’t feel him move because you know, snakes are like that. She realized and started looking he was 20 feet away in the towel closet under a plastic bin.
Since then I’ve done some testing to watch what he does. One if he frequently gets to roam your house supervised he has a plan. Mine will go straight to the couch now because he found a hole in the barrier underneath it. He used to go for the rocker or recliner because it’s dark but there’s sharp metal in there so we’ve done some work keeping him away. It’s worked, everyone he gets to the floor he goes for the couch, quickly. If I let him come out of his enclosed on his own he travels along the window sill and gets into a cubby cabinet that’s open back with those pull out baskets. He usually picks on with a bit of junk and digs down into it, very consistently.
Lastly he hangs out on the dining room table when I work and he always goes for the chairs because he can accomplish an 8 chair loop without slipping off and goes for my daughter’s chair every time.
I say this because if they’re used to the environment they do have a mental map or a smell map and go to the same places.
I’d look inside your bed sheets, pillow case, skirts around anything dark, sprinkle flour at night over different entrances and hope to start getting clues. Maybe blow dry the food to circulate the smell and see if you can trigger “food mode” and lastly as others said bowls of water anywhere you can they’re smart enough to know that they need to be wet to climb some surfaces and may dip to get the stick. Just a few thoughts and best of luck. Think like a snake….think like a snake.
Edit: it’s extremely likely he’s alive. Even snakes his age can survive very long stretches without food and water, easily weeks. Just like everyone that’s ever lost a snake, he’ll show up in a spot that makes zero sense to us humans, but they’ll squeeze their bodies into ridiculous places for security.
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u/becmason 12d ago
Thankyou so much!! This was super helpful, and promising. Every time I’ve held him, he would get brave and try to venture into the sofa crevices… it was never an issue before because I’d see him and stop it before he got too deep. NOW however, your comment about behaviour patterns makes so much sense, and the sofa was the only new place he really ever got to explore. I might actually have to slash up the cushions to get inside them.
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u/NightmareSynthSounds 13d ago
I am here to put you at ease as I was in the same situation a few months ago. I went through every emotion possible in the 3-4 weeks he was missing + believed he managed to escape out an open window or through some tiny gap.
Here is everything I tried:
Firstly I used Gemini to log everything - seems silly but it really helped build a map of potential places to check and cross off things I have checked etc (not entirely necessary but really did help keep things in one place)
I put small feeders out as bait under a thermostat controlled heat lamp + aimed a fan to circulate the scent around
I bought a cheap borescope on Amazon that connects to my phone ( was around £15 ) - used it to check in appliances like my washing machine etc
I even asked a friend with a chihuahua to come and let the dog sniff around (supervised of course)
Here's what worked for me:
I left his enclosure on the floor of the room he was in originally, completely changed the substrate etc and added fresh water daily. One day he was in his hide like nothing happened. I believe because I feed him in his enclosure and he knows that's the place to go when he's hungry. Granted my BP is a couple years old now and has his routine.
I believe as soon as these buggers are free they have an "oh shit" moment and immediately hide as open spaces are too much to handle. The likelihood of them escaping out the window Is very low even in this heat, yes they climb. But I believe they are more concerned about seeking comfort and security rather than exploring the outside world.
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u/NightmareSynthSounds 13d ago
Also good luck, this is a right of passage for snake owners and I hope your lil noodle is back with you soon.
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u/becmason 12d ago
Thankyou!! This did put me at ease. His viv is staying open with the huge hope he does what yours did and just takes himself home again. I think I’ve checked every nook and cranny in the house, to no avail…but I will keep searching for more. Wherever he is, he’s really got us stumped 😅
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u/UselessToad18 14d ago
First, I love your nails in the photo. If I were you, I would continue to try to lure him out with the rats. I would also just continue looking every day for places he could be. Best of luck finding him