found our pet snake after 6 months

Question
Hi, me and my partner lived above a pub and had a pet cali king. He escaped from his viv in October and we had given up hope. Obviously living above a pub we were pretty concerned some poor local would see him causally making his way across the pub floor but there were never any sightings and we kept his escape to ourselves.
anyway we recently moved out of the pub and got a call today from a friend who still works there that they found him... In the cellar! Apparently he gave the waitresses the shock of their lives when they went down there to change a barrel!

he is dropping him off to us later today but i have a few questions. What is the best way to care for him after months living away. I don't know what kind of state he is in, whether he has eaten anything in that time etc. Do we have to acclimatise him slowly to his usual temperature in the viv? Should we give him a few days before trying to feed him? Do you think he is going to be difficult to handle from now on? He always had a bit of a feisty temperament but now he hasn't been handled in so long is he going to lose any 'tameness' he once had?

thanks, Sam

Answer
He will most likely try and bite more or not want to be handled, not because he has become "wild" they just tend to be like this after having escaped. I would just put him in his normal enclosure, with normal temps and leave him alone for a few days. Dont try to clean him, feed him, nothing.

After 3/4 days you can try to feed him. If he eats, great, if not then its really not a big deal. Just keep offering food every week after that and do not hold him or mess with him until he has eaten several meals. Spot clean and add water if you must, but nothing more than that.

Also watch him for a few days when you get him back, make sure he does not have excess slime or mucus around his mouth or nose, make sure he isnt wheezing, blowing bubbles or yawning excessively. If he is he could have caught a respiratory infection due to low temps and he will need to go to the vet THAT DAY.

They can die within days from a respiratory infection and will need to be given injections at the vet. Other than that he should be perfectly fine, snakes can go a year without food and he found a water source somewhere, otherwise he wouldnt be alive.