by Amanda Mcknight

Created on: March 03, 2007   Last Updated: April 01, 2007

When I was younger, my cousins and I used to walk to a bike trail nearby, which had a ditch running right along side it, and search for snakes. I can't even count all the gardner snakes we found and kept, but I can tell you one thing: they all escaped. Now before you think to yourself, "Oh my goodness, I can't imagine what staying at her house would be like!" I will tell you that the snakes are most likely either dead or having a wonderful life outside. But the question remains: What to do when your pet snake escapes?

This question can become extremely important when you are (or were) the owner of an anaconda, especially a baby anaconda (since the big ones probably won't be too hard to spot). One choice you have is to call in a Rodent Exterminator and ask them to find the pet snake, but don't exterminate it. Yes, snakes aren't rodents, but I've never heard of a snake exterminator. I'm sure they exist, though.

Another choice is to buy a mongoose and let him loose in the house. However, I suggest you only follow this advice if you don't really care about the longevity of your snake. Mongooses are generally known to kill and eat snakes. In fact, the Fiji Islands (once rampant with snakes of all sorts) were virtually emptied of all snakes due to the arrival of mongooses. One positive aspect to the decision of buying a mongoose is that you can simply trade the long, slimy snake for the soft, furry mongoose. But before you do this, I have one warning: I've heard mongooses stink pretty badly.

The final choice that I lay before you is to scour the house in search of the snake. This choice may be slightly time consuming, though, since snakes have this ingenious ability to hide in the most secretive places. Believe me, I know this from experience!

As to the prevention of snake-escapes, I don't have much advice for you, simply because I have tried everything possible and the snakes have still escaped. I'm sure there are some snake experts out there who know how to prevent snake-escapes, but I am most definitely not the snake expert. It is truly incredible how snakes manage to escape from the most intricately enclosed tanks. The snakes never failed to amaze me when my brothers would approach the family with the tragic news that snake #10 escaped. (We stopped naming the snakes after the 4th one).

So, finally, I will leave you with this piece of valuable advice: before you buy a pet snake, you should realize the consequences that this purchase sometimes carries. Also, puppies are much more cuddly, and they smell better. My suggestion? Buy a puppy!

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