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 Posted - 02/09/2009 : 13:22:25
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I dont Know if this will be any help but I have a book called corn snakes in captivity by Don Soderberg... it has a chapter about escapes, i think i should write it all out because i know there are many peolpe who have corns that have escape......
"I never thought I would be dedicating a whole chapter to this subject, but I get so many phone calls and emails annually, I am compelled to share some helpfulll tips. neonate corns are small and it is easy to imagine how difficult it could be to find one that is loose in your home, but adult corns are also very adept at hiding. I have learned alot of tricks over the years for having some many corns, but friends, associates, and costumers have tought me a few as well. while there are hundreds of affective ways to find corns that are cleverly eluding their owners, I will detail some of the most affective ones.
Corn snakes are territorial so once they call a place home (i.e. their cage), they are not comfortable anywhere else. This doesnt keep them from continually trying to escape though.even when we offer them the best cuisine and accommodations, they still want to roam. Once corn snakes escape, most of them search for a way to get back into their cages.
unfortunatly, in the proccess, they sometimes find better accomidations or fall victim to one of a hundred dangerous hazards in the average household. the cat, the furnace, the refrigerator compressor, the trash, the toilet, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have seen and heared it all, from corns ending up in the spin cycle of the laundry to short circuiting computers. one of the most common myths is that they want to be in your bed. this is the one place I have never found a loose corn and I personally have never heard of someone finding one in their bed with them. the one thing wayward corns are not looking for is human companionship.
Exept for suggesting the old fashion method of turning the house upside down, the best advise for achieving a successful resolution to this emergency is to act quickly. The first 48 hours offer your best chance for finding it. first of all, corns are largely nocturnal so they cruise around at night in search of comfortable temperatures. as a rule, if they don't find what they seek they hole up and try again the next night. after a couple of nights not finding their cage, they finally strike out for parts unknown. for the first 48 hours, they are usually in the room which they escaped from (or very close)so try and keep the door of the room shut.
The most successful retrieval methods is the tape trap. Akin to the fly paper concept, the idea is to leave a piece of tape where they will get stuck to it. Do not use excessively sticky tape or you will never be able to get them off in one peice. Masking tape or painters tape are the best choices as they are not as sticky as most tapes, but sticky enough to entangle a corn. of corse, it would take a very large peice to tape up an adult corn, but Neonates are incapable of escaping the grip of even small pieces of tape.
For neonate corns, a length of tape approx 12" x 1/2" (30 x 1.3 cm) will suffice. When corns are loose, they tend to follow the walls in your home, so put the tape on the floor next to the wall. a peice next to each wall in the room where the escape happend is reccomended. one or two peices in adjoining rooms and hallways too. you can either curl both ends of the tape so it will stick to the floor with most of the sticky surface facing up or you can just let a peice fall to the floor like you would drop a peice of ribbon. dropping results in the tape landing on the floor in a random heap with sticky surfaces facing in more than one direction. i have found both ways to be equally effective. roughly 75% of the snake owners that ask me advise, report that they found there snakes with tape traps in the first 48 hours. half of those found them in the first night they set the traps, when removing the tape, sometimes warm water helps loosen the adhesive of the tape.
CAUTION: NEVER USE GLUE BOARDS SOLD FOR CATCHING MICE AND INSECTS. YOUR SNAKE WILL NEVER SURVIVE THE REMOVAL PROCESS.
Some people set the snake's cage on the floor on its side. placing it next to a wall forces the snake to detour around it. they often end up in the cage where they can be recovered the next morning. if they lived in their cage long enough to call it home, being territorial, they are instincitively attracted to it. if you can leave the heat sorce on, you enhance your chances for success since it's ordinarily so cool on the floor.
Funnel traps are annother effective trap system although most people do not want to go to the trouble of making one. it requires cutting the nozzle end off a 2 ltr or 3 ltr plastic soda bottle. reverse the funnel you remmoved and put it back on the bottle so the opening is now inside. tape or staples work well to rejoin the severed end to the body of the bottle. some use 2 bottles and join them for twice the length with an entrace at each end. this funnel trap will not attract them and the cylindrical shape of the bottle means the opening is not on the floor so you will need to lear them with bait. common attractants to put inside the bottle include, bedding from the cage, a dead mouse or bedding from a mouses cage. not unlike the highly successful funnel traps for fish, once the snake is inside, it cannot normally find the exit opening. it just keeps nosing at the lowest part of the bottle untill it gets tired and goes to sleep.
If you are not having and success with traps, sometimes it's useful just to know where the snake is. provided your corn is still in the house, there are several ways to discover its location. one is to sprinkle flour or salt on the floor next to the wall. this will not catch the corn but as long as the dogs and cats in the house don't play in it, you will find snake tracks in the flour or salt. then, you can concentrate your search in that area of the house. since closets are a common place for them to holle up (especially inside shoes or pockets of chlothing), putting salt or flour on the floor of both sides of your closets doors can be affective.
Escaped corns can also seek out heat so on the back of refrigerators and frezzers are ideal haunts since the area around the compressor is so warm. if the snake is large enough, place empty soda cans upright on the floor almost next to the wall. For Example, if the snake has a girth of 1 inch, put the empty can 1/2 " awaay from the wall. as it crawls along the walls at night, it might move the can. if you stack 2 cans, sometimes the cans will topple and awaken someone in the house. just hope your mose-eating cat doesnt hear it first.
After 48 hours, the chance of finding your corn alive is greatly reduced. keep the floors throughout your house uncluttered. take up throw rugs and be careful not to step on loose ends of carpets. most snakes relish the feeling of hides that sre snug against their backs. one costumer told me he intentionally threw his dirty chlothing all over his bedroom floor and the next day he shook the escapee out of one of his shirts. Several costumers reported to me that they laundered their snakes that were hiding in piles of chlothing ready for washing.of corse, the wash cycle killed those snakes quickly. therfore, shake out chlothing before tossing them into the washing machine. cover floor and wall vents with fine mesh screen. cover the vents of window air conditioners and keep lids on trash receptacles. Eliminate gaps at the bottom of your entry doors that are large enough for the snake to escape. tape a temporary cardboard door sweep to the bottom of the door until you are able to secure it properly. Think "floor" because gaps and crevices at ground level are the most likly exits for wandering corns.
Of corse, being proactive is always better than being reative. make sure evryone that handles your corn knows how important it is to keep the lid of the cage secureat all times. have a house rule that children are not permitted to return the family corn to its cage without having another family member verify a secure closure. a lock on the cage might even be necessary when habitual violators or small children are involved. i have heard reports on corns crawling through their water bowl to get sticky enough to literally slither up the glass slides of a tall cage.
Keep a small bowl of fresh water on the floor next to a wall in each room. many corns are found dead from dehydration that might otherwise have been found alive if only water was avalible. also, many escaped corns have been found fatally stuck to loose tape on storage boxes...
i hope this helps anyone who has an escapee corn...
thanx !! 
This is a pic of a funnel trap
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201 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2009 : 13:30:05
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| Some really good information the thanks for posting it up |
1 x Cornsnake (Cornflake)
1 x Boxer Dog (Stumpi)
Regards Chris & Cornflake |
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devilsmistress
Yearling
United Kingdom
829 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2009 : 13:34:48
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| I would not recomend the tape trap though!! That can cause some serious damage to your snake. Its a bad idea! the rest of the advice seems fine though! |
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43 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2009 : 13:35:21
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its ok,,, 
im happy to help!! |
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Kellog
the nice one
United Kingdom
7308 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2009 : 03:30:26
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'one of the most common myths is that they want to be in your bed. this is the one place I have never found a loose corn and I personally have never heard of someone finding one in their bed with them. the one thing wayward corns are not looking for is human companionship.'
Am sure one of our forum members woke up to find his/her escaped corn wrapped around his/her leg!
'the idea is to leave a piece of tape where they will get stuck to it.' 'also, many escaped corns have been found fatally stuck to loose tape on storage boxes...'
Surely this is a contradiction and definitely agree with Paula, who speaks from experience.
I would add a bit about searching high as well as low, cos corns are amazing at climbing if given the chance and may surprise you by being in the top of a cupboard or bookshelf etc.
The rest is good advice though, especially the bit about not letting it happen! Does seem a lot of our forum's snakes have escaped recently.... xxx
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Edited by - Kellog on 03/09/2009 03:34:02 |
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43 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2009 : 16:10:00
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| ok thanx for your comments,,, the rest of book it full of information and i would recomend that book as it is exellent for learners.. |
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2009 : 18:57:44
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good info.. good post
cant recommend il be using the tape traps tho!! |
2.0 Normal Royal Pythons - Q and Little One
1.0 Chihauhaun Mountain Kingsnake - Simba
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What to do if your corn escapes!!
