Warning: Snakes can fit through VERY small gaps!

[MMAnne]

I got the fright of my life tonight.

I was just sitting at my computer when I heard a noise from across my room. I turned around to see Stimpy squeezing through a tiny gap I had left between the track and glass doors to help ventilate the cool end of my enclosure. A gap that I had previously thought impossible for my by no means small snake to get through!

I am just very grateful that I was awake and that Stimpy was clumsy enough to knock a photo frame on his quest to escape. What scared me most, though, was not that fact that 'ahh, my snake nearly escaped' but rather that Stimpy could have seriously hurt himself squeezing through that tiny gap.

Luckily, he seems okay, climbing on the branches in his enlcosure and hanging about the glass door watching me type.

I have inclued pictures of the gap he squeezed through. It was no bigger than this, and if it was only by a millimetre or so.

When compared to my Stimmy this gap looks positively tiny...

This just goes to show always check you have closed your vivarium completely before walking away because your snake may posibbly escape through even the tiniest gap.

 

[nightowl]

I went through a similar situation on Saturday.

I have been waiting for my yearling Olive to shed for almost a week and he had been (well, I thought he had!) in his hide all this time, which was quite unusual. About 20 minutes before I had to go to a gig I thought I'd lift the hide to check on him and to my surprise nothing was in there!

Now, this Olive is about 3ft long and the only gap in his enclosure is the one between the glass, where the sliders overlap in the middle! It has a sliding lock on it at all times which always has the lock fastened and nobody has access to that room.

The only thing I can think of is the Olive got out when I was changing his water or bulb. Maybe I left the door ajar while doing one of these and he snuck out before I noticed.

Luckily I found him in the second place I looked, on top of the other Four Bank, above the heated side.

I won't be so laid back next time I feed, change water or bulbs again! :shock:

 

[sweethips12]

You are so lucky you found Stimpy. I have a coastal that got thro the tiniest gap that you wouldnt have even thought would be possible for him to get through...he showed up in the basin downstairs 3months later!!

 

[mrsshep77]

Unfortunately I think alot of us have had to learn the hard way! Yes snakes can fit through VERY small gaps/holes!!! Friends of ours lost their diamond 2 yrs ago through a hole that seemed impossible to get through and if it wasn't for the excrement left behind we wouldn't have thought that was where she escaped!
I've also gone through the same thing with one of my spotteds and now I'm soooo overly paranoid that everything is checked 10 times over!!
I'm glad Stimpy didn't get too far and that there is a happy ending!

Cheers,
Mell

 

[MMAnne]

Yes, I a very paranoid now and check everything 100 times over when locking the viv back up.

 

[kelly]

Lucky he didn't escape!
I've had one of those 'heart attack' moments when I thought my stimmie escaped, luckily I found him under the lip of his water bowl!
But no, haven't had any escapees yet although my new carpet girl seems pretty keen to escape all the time.

 

[MMAnne]

Lucky he didn't escape!
I've had one of those 'heart attack' moments when I thought my stimmie escaped, luckily I found him under the lip of his water bowl!
But no, haven't had any escapees yet although my new carpet girl seems pretty keen to escape all the time.

I know what you mean! Stim's are great hiders when they want to be :lol:

 

[Just_Joshin]

lol, my A.maculosa got out the other week the little bugger. As i was going to bed i noticed the door of the viv slightly ajar. Minor heart attack set in with me realising it must have been like that for around 12 hours (since my cousin was looking at him) and i did a quick search.

Ended up finding the little bugger at the BACK of a cupboard full of, pillows, O/N bags, sleeping bags etc. curled up in the back corner cold as ice. He was cool as cucumber when i found him and was quite happy to be returned to his warm home i think.

 

[MMAnne]

lol, my A.maculosa got out the other week the little bugger. As i was going to bed i noticed the door of the viv slightly ajar. Minor heart attack set in with me realising it must have been like that for around 12 hours (since my cousin was looking at him) and i did a quick search.

Ended up finding the little bugger at the BACK of a cupboard full of, pillows, O/N bags, sleeping bags etc. curled up in the back corner cold as ice. He was cool as cucumber when i found him and was quite happy to be returned to his warm home i think.

Well atleast the silly snake won't be trying to escape again any time soon!

Hopefully Stimpy learnt his leason...

 

[Just_Joshin]

Lucky he didn't escape!
I've had one of those 'heart attack' moments when I thought my stimmie escaped, luckily I found him under the lip of his water bowl!
But no, haven't had any escapees yet although my new carpet girl seems pretty keen to escape all the time.

My guy used to hide under the water bowl like that all the time and scare the crap out of me!!

 

[DiamondAsh]

Nice catch, lucky you were there at the time. If the enclosure has proper venting you shouldn't need to keep the door open. I had one of those moments myself last week, only my diamond set off the house alarm when he pushed his door open. A good reminder (and $100 turn out fee for the security company) to re-attatch the lock I removed from when I was last doing maintanance.

 

[kelly]

My guy used to hide under the water bowl like that all the time and scare the crap out of me!!

Hahaha tell me about it!
Not good when you've got your mom yelling at you while you're at work saying "Your snake has escaped!! Come home & find him!!!" :lol:

 

[nickamon]

Perhaps you could drill some small air holes into the sides of your tank? You could always cover them up when you want to decrease ventilation. Or you could buy a vent at the hardware store and install it.

I have locking pins on my tank door, and I know my snake can't get out. She likes to hide behind her climbing branch. When I first got her, my heart used to skip a beat when I would look into the tank, check the hide, and not see her because she was behind the branch.

 

[MMAnne]

I think we need a few more air holes down the cool end, yes.

Right now we have two large vents at the back, and a small one on each side but Stimpy is always hanging around those vents so I thought it might be getting a little too stuffy in there. Also, leaving the glass open a crack helped keep my cool end at the right temp.

For those interested my temps are 32* for the hot end and about 26* for the cool end.

I lock my enclosure, too. But up until now I have always allowed a crack. Not anymore, though!

I will try and dig up pics of the viviarium...