Its just a possibility, she could be in my hall closet or somehow up in the refrigerator near the condesor as its warm. I looked under the sofa in all the corners, under the desk, under my bed and behind the dresser so there isn’t many other places we haven’t checked. I know i will spot her as she is very orange. Im going to as my niece and her bf to come and we will do a methodical room by room seach ( i have a 1 bedroom apartment with 3 closets) the only reason i thought maybe the stove was the proximity as she was in my front room which serves as living room dining room and kitchen.
I do miss her terribly and hope we have a happy reunion. Her being gone makes me feel as im not a good mom. I swear after her 1st escape that id totally secure her i taped down on all sides with duct tape i ran my pinky around the edge and couldn’t get a gap. I probably should have ran tape around the entire lip making a seal, i totally thought she couldn’t possibility get out, she proved that she was smart as heck. If i find her again she is going into one of my locking enclosures im not going to use a tub for her ever again. I guess i assumed she would be like Snowfall who never tries to get out, even if i open the lid.
Im so sorry i didn’t learn the 1st time she escaped and i second guessed myself about the tub when i knew she needed a locked enclosure that i did have available. I feel horrible that i didn’t listen to my intuition and i never felt comfortable about using a tub in the 1st place. If i do find her im not gonna be stupid a 3rd time, she going in the glass enclosure that has locking door.
I know a lot of people use tubs and seem to prefer them to glass enclosures and while my sweet boy never attempted to escape and he is very chill, i have zero confidence in tubs as they don’t seem secure to me. I was wanting another snake or 2 but now i feel i won’t be able to properly secure them and keep them safe and happy. I know its my fault i should have maybe used more tape i taped at each corner and at regular intervals and still i missed something.
Keep in mind that if you have boxes and/or piles of stuff around (laundry, various supplies, etc.), she could have also found a hiding place in something like that. Any ground-level cabinets are also a possibility. I agree that doing a methodical, section-by-section search is a good idea. My stove does have stuff that goes into the wall, but the hole in the wall is pretty high up, not near the ground …but no idea if yours is the same.
Try not to be so hard on yourself. Hindsight is always 20/20, and you can’t always plan on or predict everything before it happens. Escapes are not uncommon with snakes, even for experienced keepers, because snakes can be VERY skilled escape artists. They’ve managed to escape from virtually every type of enclosure in existence. Not all designs for tubs, tanks, or PVC cages are created equal, and not all designs are secure for all snakes. Some snakes are more determined to get out and explore than others. The other day when I got home from work, I nearly had a heart attack because I saw that the lid on my blood python’s tub was not latched or clipped closed or anything…it was just sitting loose on top, not secured at all. I must have forgotten to close the latches and put the clips on when I changed her water that morning. But she was still sitting contentedly on her heat pad, apparently oblivious to the fact that she could have gotten out. If I’d done that with my sand boa, she probably would have been gone forever. Even still, I was really mad at myself for making such a stupid mistake.
I really hope she turns up (I still think she will), and that this doesn’t deter you from getting more snakes in the future if that’s what you want. Her escaping doesn’t mean you’re a bad keeper, these things happen even to the most caring and experienced keepers. Sometimes our pets outsmart us. It happens. Hang in there. It’s obvious how much you care about your animals.
It all highly depends on the type of tub you use. While I keep colubrids, I can happily suggest some great, affordable, and secure bin options of varying sizes for you.
I know you’re mentally kicking your behind now, and tbh I have done the same thing in a similar situation. Truth is, some snakes (and some horses, some dogs, some cats, some rabbits, some etc.) are really determined to escape and spend every waking moment trying to find or force an opening. They’ve nothing else to do. It’s really not your fault and there are very few of any keepers who won’t have it happen sooner or later. It just unfortunately happened sooner for you.
I don’t know if sand boas generally climb. Even if they don’t, Orange Crush might. I once found an escaped yearling on top of the drapes. Absolutely no idea how he managed that.
Don’t give up. I, too, believe you’ll find her at some point. Hopefully sooner than later.
Orange Crush is a rosy boa. It’s my understanding that they’re mostly terrestrial, but will do a bit of climbing sometimes (they probably climb more than sand boas).
Im hoping my niece will come with help so we can do a methodical check. I am very worried about my baby girl.
Thanks for all the words of encouragement and positivity. Im hoping she will be found quickly probably doing something silly. She definitely was a curious one not a homebody like Snow. Im definitely going to reward my niece for helping. I hope she never escapes again after this if we find her. But if she does ill know where to look right away as im sure she would return there.
I think that maybe long ago when the continents were together they were the same but as the world changed and continents drifted apart they evolved separately. They are both desert type species.
Could also be an example of convergent evolution, where two separate, unrelated populations evolve similar traits to cope with similar environments in different parts of the world.
Emerald tree boas and green tree pythons are a good example of convergent evolution. You have two species on opposite sides of the world that aren’t even in the same family, yet evolved to be so similar they’re virtually identical, because they live in similar environments and fill similar ecological niches.
It’s my understanding that they’re mostly terrestrial, but will do a bit of climbing sometimes (they probably climb more than sand boas).