About eight years ago I purchased my first snake. Like many first time snake buyers I picked up a corn snake. Nothing fancy, just a male amelanistic corn, or albino as some call it. I set him up in a 35 gallon long glass tank with a tight fitting screen lid I made myself. For substrate I had a layer of paper towel and about half an inch of aspen shavings ontop.

One day a friend was over and she asked to see the corn snake. So I opened up the cage and moved the hide and didn't see any snake. I didn't worry as I knew he could be under the aspen. After riffling through the aspen and peaking under the papertowel, I couldn't find him anywhere. My friend had to go and the search began in earnest.

After spending an hour looking all over the room the cage was in, moving the substrate back and forth and even taking out the paper towel, I didn't find my snake anywhere. Frustrated and tired, I gave up, deciding it may be easier to find him at night when he's moving around. Several hours later I come up to the room I kept the snake in, flashlight in hand. By chance I glance at the cage and much to my surprise, found my snake looking at me from inside his cage.

About two weeks later the same thing happened, I wanted to take my snake out for awhile only to be unable to find him in his cage. Remembering the last time I was more careful when I looked through the aspen but still didn't find him. However, come nightfall, my cornsnake was still in his cage.

Up to this point I had not found a name for him but after his two disappearing acts I named him Copperfield, after David Copperfield the famous Illusionist.