Ball Python Escaped

Question
Hi Kevin, we recently moved my five year old daughter's ball python (Kaa) from a small (10 gallon) aquarium in her room, to a 125 gallon aquarium in the living room. He will be two years old in December, and like most ball pythons is very docile, however not as shy, and is always curious about his surroundings. He is our daughter's constant companion, including taking him for warm (soap free) showers when he is approaching his shed. She startled us this morning when she announced he was gone, and sure enough, he is missing from his aquarium. Unfortunately about 5 feet from the tank, is our furnace duct, and it is big and round with enough space for him to fit inside (our living room was previously a garage). After moving all of our furniture etc we are pretty convinced this is where he has gone, and she is devstated. Is all hope lost? I know usual tips using mice/or a heat lamp on the ground, flour to track them etc, but the duct work has really thrown me for a loop. Thank you for any help you can offer!

Answer
A warm duct would make sense. I would keep using the usual tracking methods and prepare to take down the duck work this weekend. Not only do you not want to the snake to die for your daughter's sake, you also do not want to deal with the smell of decay should he die there. Before you do that though, spend a day moving everything and make sure that he is not in the room. Snakes are crafty and there is still a good chance that he is in the room. Don't forget to look up. They can climb and often do end up on top of things.