Royal Python has escaped!

[Belvedeer]

My daughter’s royal python escaped on New Year’s Eve and is still missing. I followed tips online to search room by room and then sealing the door off if she’s not in there but can’t find her anywhere! I’ve literally ransacked the place, every piece of clothing has been removed and checked even the hanging clothes, every drawer has been removed, I even pulled the fridge freezer out and took the plinths off in the kitchen! We’ve left her viv door open with a mouse inside, tried leaving a hot water bottle with hide on the top next to a mouse at night but still no sign. Does anyone have any other tips of what we can do? I have a distraught 8 year old on my hands!

God I’m glad you’re not near me. It really gives me the creeps thinking about it on the loose. Have you found it?

I laughed so much at the blow-dried rat that DS got annoyed with me for interrupting SpongeBob Squarepants.

I hope it turns up soon OP.

Yikes I’m in dorset! Not near Poole are you?

@morana23 i beg to differ on far more scared , if I see one on the tv I freeze
I have seen a snake in the wild and that freaked me out , my brother rescued an injured slow worm ( which i know isn't a snake) and that got out and scared the crap out of me

Fingers crossed OP! If you’re terraced or semi detached might be worth letting your neighbours know as well, and your local vets in case she’s got out and is handed in? I work at a vets and my corn snake is a rescued escapee who was bought in by the police. Never did find his original owners, but we have reunited other lost snakes before so worth letting them know, and any local reptile shops etc. One we had handed in was found several streets away inside someone else’s house.

My boy has escaped twice since being with me, but he’s not very good at it. One time he just came to find me and the other I found him sunbathing on a windowsill, before I’d even noticed he was missing!

Fingers x’d she turns up

Just wanted to say fingers crossed OP, I had one a few years ago and she got out overnight once, just sat on the carpet looking at me one day like nothing had happened. I know corn snakes are nice and that's why they're popular but royals are just so, well, sensible, aren't they?

They can go a long time without food, especially Royals, they can be very stubborn feeders, so leaving food probably won't coax him out. Try leaving bowls of water around or some damp towels.

My snake escaped while I was in uni halls and my roommate found her inside a shoe in her wardrobe.

Dark enclosed spaces, places you wouldn't think he would fit, he will fit!

*she, sorry!

Please god tell me you don't live in Devon??? As someone who had a massive & i mean massive phobia of snakes I would be absolutely petrified if it came anywhere near me I can't even stand being near a slow worm. My worst nightmare would be if a neighbour had one & it escaped, I'll stick with my cats.

I was also keen to check you're not near me and Dorset isn't.
There was something in our local paper where someone found one curled up on their boiler.

OMG. I'd be happy to have a snake but becoming a grooming parlour and undertaker for deceased rodents - no thank you!!

@ivfbeenbusy

Just to reassure some of you - an adult will be 4 to 5 feet long

Nope not reassured at all 🤣🤣🤣

not reassured either. really hope you're mainland UK and not channel islands.....

this would be my worst nightmare..

@donewithitalltodayandxmas I suppose though if you're not familiar with the behaviour of snakes, you wouldn't have known how scared the snakes were of you (if that makes sense). Nearly every snake I've ever handled has been very timid to begin with and very obviously scared of me, royal pythons tend to ball up and hide their head underneath themselves until they become more comfortable with you. My friend's snake was the first I ever saw up close, I was absolutely terrified as I had never been around them, I was convinced it would come straight at me and attack. The more time I spent around snakes, the more I realised that this is not the case! None of our snakes have bitten, or tried to, ever. Even if they did, it would not need medical attention. Just a clean and a plaster. There is no more reason to fear a Royal python than a cat, dog or a hamster.

There must be a synergy here with the various people who have reported mice and rat infestations in their homes surely?

@BeyondThunderdome

Hang on, you're not the tiktok person whose children deliberately let their baby python out, are you? Weird coincidence that I just saw that before posting here!!

Absolutely not! Why on earth would anyone do that??

@Lovemusic33

I’m in Dorset too.

Mine got out when it was the same size, first time I stupidly didn’t shut the vivarium door properly and 2nd time he pushed the air vert through (they are now glued in). My corn snake has got out once but luckily dd spotted it as he slithered onto the top of his vivarium. Pythons are very lazy so they don’t tend to travel as far as a corn, so she’s probably near by but just well hidden.

This is the second time she’s gotten out because the door to her viv has been left just slightly ajar, last time she was under my daughter’s cabin bed less than a metre from her viv snuggled amongst teddies, pulled her room completely apart so definitely not there although she may have returned by now, will have another root through tomorrow when kids are back in school.

Phew!! I know, it was horrible - three children in the household, the python belonged to the eldest one of them, and the other two deliberately left the viv open :(

I'm eyeing mine up now, checking she is still sleeping in her rock... 😂

Oh god

Thanks everyone, I’ve been to get a heat mat this afternoon so will try leaving that out with some water. She is a good feeder and was due yesterday so was hoping a mouse would draw her out.....

She really is a timid thing so probably just hiding somewhere, my biggest fear is that she’s under the floorboards or the bath as others have mentioned as the bath is tiled in so would mean ripping the side off, also don’t fancy ripping up carpet and floorboards!

The guy at the pet shop thinks she’s snuggled around a pipe somewhere and we won’t see her until summer, I really hope not

My Randell escaped in Winter one year, didn't see her until the following August. It literally was about 6 months from vanishing to making a reappearance.

I got home from work and there she was, just sunbathing on the front door step. Looked a bit on the skinny side but otherwise fine.

Mine's favourite thing is an ice cream tub, with a hole in it, half full of wet coconut fibre. She much prefers it to actual water and would happily live in that bloody tub 😂
Could try putting one on top of the heat mat?

Hope you find her soon! My ball python has escaped a few times. Once found in a drawer, then on top of some plugs that were warm, another actually behind the viv between the viv and the wall. We turned the room upside down looking for her and she was wedged between the back of the viv and the wall I also panicked ours had gone under floorboards. We've now also glued the air vents.

Would it work to turn off all the heating except for the heat pad, so there won't be any warm pipes to wrap around? Obviously you'll be cold but you'll have the heat from the rat hairdryer to keep you going.

I like the suggestion of turning off the heating then leave the heatmat out on full heat.