Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a male Southern Pacific that has been captive for a year and I'm ready to release him. However the location I caught him in is now being graded for houses. My question is this: Is there a problem with releasing him a couple of miles from his original habitat? I read in Klaubers book that rattlers tend to have a poor survivability rate if released more than a mile from their original location. I assume this is for hibernation reasons for snakes that need to den in order to survive winter. Since I'm in California I don't think it applies, but I don't want the snake to have problems so I'm looking for some feedback from anybody with experience. Thanks.

Find someone who is willing to give it a good home.
If returned to the wild, his chances of survival are slim at best. Not to mention the dangers it may pose to wild populations.

Thanks for the reply. This snake has not been in contact with any other reptiles while in captivity and is by all appearances quite healthy. He's got good body weight and is eating regularly with no hesitation (about every 7-10 days). If any experienced keepers in the Simi Valley/San Fernando Valley area are interested in adoption please contact me to discuss the possibility. Must be an experienced adult to even be considered. I recently moved into an apartment and my fiance is not comfortable having him inside the apartment, otherwise I would't part with him.

Finding a good home is the absolute best thing you can do. You don't want to get caught releasing a previous captive into the wild, even if it was previously a wild caught animal. There are a lot of Fish and Game laws that have nasty penalties with them.

Thanks to all who responded. I pretty well knew the answer, but thought I'd ask anyhow. As a result of your responses my fiance' has decided the snake can stay with us. Thanks again!

How old is he and whats his coloration like?(I'm looking for an older blacker animal)

He's not particularly dark for a Helleri. He's chocolate brown. He's probably pretty old though, as he's got 12 buttons with many missing judging by the diameter of the last segment, and he's about 40" long. Definitely an adult.