ball python gone

Question
My son got a young (about 2 1/2 ft. long) ball python from a friend.  He had in in a terrarium for a couple of months.  I told him to feed the snake outside in a clear container, but he fed it in the bathtub, putting a towel under the door so it wouldn't escape.  Well, it vanished about 2 months ago and we looked all over the house and have not been able to find it.  We have 2 big dogs (lab and border collie mix)and they don't bark at night, so we thought he left the house.  Yesterday, I started noticing a very bad smell from my son's bathroom (not mildew or ordinary bathroom smells).  My husband agrees it's the dead snake but we cannot locate it under the vanity or in the toilet.  Can a snake live in a pipe under the bathtub for 2 months and then die?  If so, how to we find it and get rid of it? Or can it climb a wall and get into the air vent through the slats?

Answer
Well for future snakes, you do not have to feed them outside their tank. I currently have close to 200 right now and never once have I moved them for feeding. Especially ball pythons. They are such picky eaters as is that moving them can actually cause them to ball up and not eat. Snakes are very smart and know what food is, they don't just strike at whatever. Some snakes won't eat frozen thawed or switch from mice to rats because it's not their normal food and they very easily tell the difference. So next time just feed in the tank.
As for the snake being dead, a dead snake is the worst smell ever, you would know without a doubt if it was dead. If the drain was open, yes it's likely it went down it but it very well should have escaped out and away from the home. I don't believe it went in the toilet and if it found a hole and died somewhere the only way to get it out is tearing stuff up. I had a baby boa that magically escaped and wound up in my walls and we had to pin point the smell and rip up the wall to get it out. Not fun and not cheap but that smell does not go away.
     Sorry that happened, try smelling down the drain, if it's down there a plumber will have to come get it out. If it's in the walls you will have to try and find the strong smell point and start breaking into it. Otherwise once it starts letting it's insides go it seeps into the walls and stains them and the smell will basically dry to the walls. I'm not trying to gross y'all out, I'm speaking from experience.