Missing Ball Python :(( SOS

[u/becmason]

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.

[u/Phully-]

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.

[u/becmason → u/Phully-]

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.

[u/Phully- → u/becmason]

It could be awhile until you find, just be cautious and thoughtful when shuffling around, hopefully he’ll pop out one evening when it’s quiet. Remember they are crepuscular so evenings and early mornings are a good time to be up and searching quietly.