2:45PM
Homebase, CA
Mami had just returned home from shopping. Princess Olivia and Princess Amelia gleefully brought the brown paper bag which was stable shut and resembled a large paper bag lunch into my office and reported to me that they had the mice. That's right mice. Live mice. That's what snakes eat. Think of it as vermin control.
I took the bag opened it and delivered one fat and juicy to Mr Squeezers cage. Mr. Squeezer is our boa. He's still a baby, only 18" long. Mr. Squeezers was in his hiding spot, a hallowed little log. But his senses are keen and he was aware of the arrival of his lunch much the same way you would be aware of a hot pot of fresh coffee being brewed.
I then took the bag to Buttercup's cage. I chose a big one for him and took it by the tail. After sliding the screen-door of Buttercup's cage back I dropped his food in. I busied myself transferring the other mice to a temporary plastic holding cage, that would be a refrigerator for us. That took a few seconds. I was surprised after a while to see that Buttercup had not come out of his hiding place, a large hallow plastic rock, to eat. I shrugged and walked off to watch my hands.
I came back and still no sign of Buttercup. By now his nose would be sticking out the hole in the rock. The mouse had made himself at home and was running in and out of the rock, up and down the tree like thing, and around the water dish. I opened the cage and lifted the rock. Every bit of me was expecting to see the fat 3' long ball python as I lifted the rock. And much the way a parent would panic when they turn and find their child not where they were supposed to be my blood ran cold.
I wasn't frightened because the absences of Buttercup in his cage meant we had a snake on the loose. I was afraid that Buttercup could be hurt or held up in a place where he won't get the warmth and nutrition (mice) he needs. he could die.
The call went out and eveyone's priorities from that moment on went into looking for Buttercup.
Miles' room is where the snake is kept so it was his room that was first torn apart. Every piece of furniture moved. We discovered that Miles didn't always put his dirty socks and other clothing in the hamper but behind furniture and boxes. (They may have started in the middle of the floor and through constant negclect slowly migrated to these places.)
His room was virtually gutted. We ingnored places that it was impossible for the snake to get into like an old powered amp with it's totally sealed cabnet and closed totes.
As James continued the careful search in Miles room the rest of us spread out and searched the rest of the house. The sewing nook , the little kids' room, behind the TV in the living room. No room was left out and no piece of furniture was not checked under and around. No snake.
Everyone who saw him was sure Miles had replaced Buttercup after the SoCal Trip the night before. They remembered him trading snakes out of the travel cage and into their home cages. Still to be on the safe side I sent Cynthia out to check the van in case he made his break while in travel.
4:30PM
After quite some time we all exhausted our guess and places to search. The excitement had tired me in my weakened state from my chest cold so I retreated to my bed. We decided to wait the few minutes until Miles got home to see if he had any ideas.
Being a Christian family we have many times found that a quick simple prayer asking for direction helps. Well that's what I did while on the bed. Immediately I hopped up and went into Miles' room and went directly to a closed tote on a high shelf. I pulled it down. As I pulled off the top and I noticed the lid was loose, not snuck and locked in place. I pulled it completely off and there looking up at me was a confused ball python. He was cold and very happy to be in warm hands.
Buttercup is Olivia's snake and they are bosom buddies. There could be no closer friends in reptile-human relations. She loves Buttercup like your little girl might love a bunny or a kitten. When I handed Buttercup to her she was so happy and so relieved we had found him. She held him for an hour.
Finally Buttercup was returned to his cage. A new pin catch was installed and he had a wonderful filling dinner of mice.
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