So it seems that the bane of a petstore is that animals get loose. And good news (sarcasm here), there are several snakes that are loose in our store. Any tips on catching them? It seems rather hopeless to me and purely a matter of luck. However, if there is any advice, that would be awsome. A couple of known escapees are a red tail boa, white lipped python (reported to be huge), and a jungle carpet python. Several droppings have been found, not in any specific area, and definitely of varying sizes. Suggestions?

You might try raccoon traps. There are harmless and might work. Does your store have video surveillance? You could see some hiding spots. Good luck, and you might want to take a look at who's building your snake enclosures.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Always look in corners they don't normally end up out in the open and stick to low corners...warmth...or where food is. I know someone who found theirs looking at their 'pet mice'. Get a pop bottle and cut the top off and put it backwards so he can fit in and put a fuzzy in there and lay it on the floor...laying a heat mat next to it might be a good idea too. You can also try sprinkling powder in doorways when you close for the night and when you open see if he's passed by any of them. My friend lost hers in her ceiling and thought it was a gonner...and it was...but 5 years later they heard something in the ceiling and they went in the attic and guess what they saw slithering away? If you look hard enough you will find him.

I had mine in a critter keeper for feeding and left the room, came back...and he was gone...Then the cat came in went directly to the corner and let her eyes pop out of her head like she saw a ghost...I halled out the computer shelf...didn't see anything...and she ran to the other corner...and what freaked out little dude was there? Joe! Hurray!

Just a suggestion, do you have, or could you implement, some cage locks to prevent escapees? Also, clean out and handle only one at a time so that you always have your eye on individual animals.

With regards to finding them, search in particular areas that are dark and warm, high up on top of other enclosures and behind or in between cracks or spaces where they could have hidden.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

The cage systems are actually very secure. Custom designed, solid enclosures with locks drilled into the glass. Nothing gets out of them as long as the front doors are closed. A previous associate had left them in open containers to feed and left the room. Nice one I know. So my boss informed me yesterday what he knew had escaped. The racoon trap is a great idea, that might get the white lipped. Apparently he was five feet at the time of escape. And that was seven months ago. The heat mat idea is great as well, we have an attic area where there are tonz and tonz of hiding places. I gotta say that its a little frustrating to be cleaning up after someone elses screw ups. The biggest problem I'm facing is that we are a very large aquarium dealer. Its hot, its humid, theres lots of pipes and holes and all kinds of wierd nooks and crannies. Not to mention plenty of access to fresh water. Thanks for the help guys, I'm going to see what I can do with that. I'll let ya know if I catch any. Oh yeah, she also let out tokays, I hear them barking at each other every couple days. Good news on those though, I found one pilfering our cricket bin. He was NOT happy to be caught. Hopefully they will all get rounded up.

do you have CCTV in your shop? if so you could watch their activities throughuout the night and possibly follow their paths to their hiding places! just a thought. If not that food is always a safe bet as they will need to eat soon if its been 7 months try some sort of food trap.

Even try creating a large hide one night with plenty of heat and some food. see if it ends up in there?! other than that good luck!