We have had an alarming number of reptile escapes recently, usually first noticed when we come face-to-face with a snake on our landing.
Our king of escapology at the moment is Reg the Columbian Rainbow Boa.
My son noticed various things mysteriously falling from his shelves over a period of a week or so. We couldn’t work out what it was. A week later all was revealed. Reg had clearly realised that if he pushed hard enough against the roof of his tank, he could lift the lid (and the 2 tanks sat on the lid!) and wriggle free. First line of escape was along the shelf and onto the bookshelves, where the various items were knocked off en-route to the door.
His intentions were betrayed by a loud crashing sound on the landing at 4am. Upon investigation I saw that a shelf had fallen over. Moving to lift the shelf I was attacked by an exceedingly irate snake onto which the shelf had just fallen (and as I was next along I presume he thought I was the cause of his original surprise! and undoubted discomfort). After a 5-minute cooling-off period, Reg was happily returned to a new tank with sliding doors which he hasn’t yet worked out how to open.
Reg is one of 5 of our snakes to have escaped in the past year.
Another notable occasions was Snowy, our albino Corn Snake who casually slithered across my daughter’s foot whilst she was revising for some exams, to which she said, “Oh! Dad! I think Snowy’s out!”
So, if you intend to keep reptiles, especially those with no legs, remember they are genetically descended from Houdini and are pathological escape artists. They will escape, so be prepared, or invest in tank locks for every tank you have.
We think it’s great fun looking for them, as it’s a bit like playing hide-and-seek with a 3-year old: they alway hide in the same place and think you can’t see them; then are surprised hen you find them.
Until next time …
Tags: escapologists, escapology, houdini gene, reptiles, snakes, snakes escaping
