hi,
we have a lot of snakes where i live- some extremely dangerous - i hate to tell you but that sanke could be anywhere by now! you HAVE GOT to find a professional snake catcher to come and find it! Ask local vets or call the zoo for info on where to find this professional.
chances are, this snake is hiding somewhere and not looking for trouble but you must get it out and also have a thorough search.Did she see it enter? if not, this professional will find the likely source of entry and close it up.
In the future, care must be taken not to leave doors open etc.
one encouraging note is that at this time of the year the snakes that are still 'awake' are slower than in the summer so it will be easier to catch but meanwhile, and especially since you don't know what kind, run, don't walk to the yellow pages and find the appropriate person to take care of it. Also, if it is at all possible, close off the section of the house where u think it might be.
keep us posted!
good luck,
dory

I agree, even if the snake is of non-poisonous nature, it is very disconcerting to think one is lying under your bed while you are sleeping.

You might trap a mouse...alive...and use it as bait to come into your parlour. I cant think of a worse terror than a mouse seeing a mortal enemy and knowing he is on the menu.
How about a rubber mouse....on a string and when the snake takes him....
you take the snake for a walk.

Update on the snake?

Some suggestions would be to sprinkle flour across doorways, around borders of the room to see where the snake may be going. They like under refrigerators because of the warmth they give out and any other hiding spot that they may find a cozy place to curl up. They like being in tight places because they feel safe and cozy.

Don't try a live mouse or rat. For that size snake I'd probably try to buy a frozen rodent from a pet store and ask for a fuzzy mouse. Defrost the mouse and leave in a box in a dimly lit room where you think the snake may be and inconspicuously watch for the snake to go and eat the meal. If you put the box on a human heating pad there is a chance the snake would eat the mouse and then simply curl up to sleep and digest for you to box up and bring outside or to animal control.

Please consider not harming the snake. Even venemous snakes have their place in the great outdoors.

hbwright has the right idea. I study and raise snakes and unfortunately since we don't tend to have such scary snakes as they do in Israel there really isn't anyone who can find it easily for you. They tend to have solid cinderblock walls in Israel so its a lot easier to eliminate the possibility that the snake is hanging out inside the wall and a lot easier to find potential holes too. Your suggestion is good lovesgardening but the situtation is just really different here. I thought most of your dangerous snakes where in the south.

Anyway many snakes in the states hibernate for the winter so you might not see it again until the weather warms up. At which time it is likely to be hungry and probably will leave the house to look for food. Typically US houses are really easy for snakes to get out of. Putting bait out is unlikely to work but if you decide to do this snakes follow scent trails so you might drag your dead rodent along the baseboards and leave a scent trail to the box.

Finally if you do see it again try to refrain from killing it. These sort of animals can look scary but they are really harmless. The kind of snakes that you named are more likely to protect your family from disease organisms by eating rats and mice that might carry them.

Best of luck & happy holidays.