Animal control experts have lost sight of an escaped snake they are trying to catch in Verdun.

Lady, a four-foot royal python, escaped one week ago by sliding through the open door of a home near 1st Ave. and Willibrord St., in part because the owner did not have a locked terrarium for the snake.

The owner searched for a few hours that night and was assisted by police the following morning.

Nobody saw the snake until the following Monday, when it was spotted in the neighbourhood. 

Police, the owner and Animex animal emergency specialists spent Monday evening searching for the serpent, and the search continued until it was finally seen Tuesday evening.

Animex wildlife technician Eve Surprenant-Desjardins said the reptile has fed – most likely on a rat or a mouse – and slithered into a crack in a brick wall at a home on Willibrord St., making it less likely to come out in the near future.

On Wednesday they called a plumber for assistance, and used a mobile camera to keep an eye on the serpent so it doesn't sneak off again. It turned out they were too late -- once the camera was put in position around midday on Wednesday, the snake was nowhere to be found. 

The snake is not venomous and is not large enough to pose a danger to humans. It feeds mostly on rodents.

"It's not a dangerous snake," said Surprenant-Desjardins. 

Even so, the mother and children who live in the home where Lady was holed up are staying elsewhere until the snake is captured. 

Pythons are mostly active at sunrise or sunset, so Animex intends to return at those times until it is caught. If the snake comes out it will encounter a perimeter of sand and a yellow band set up around its hiding spot. 

"Usually we are here when the sun goes down because it's his activity period, but now it's a lot of citizens who are scared who need to be reassured," said Surprenant-Desjardins. 

Boas and pythons are banned in Verdun under a local bylaw, so once Lady is captured, she will not be returned to her owner. She will be taken somewhere else, said Surprenant-Desjardins.

Snake owners should be sold the proper terrarium and equipment at the pet store where they buy the serpent, added Surprenant-Desjardins.