Reptile & Amphibian Forums

in my profession i am at times called to remove a snake from inside of a house, garage, yard, or street. generally the snake is in a neighborhood or house. the snake would surely be killed by passer byers or the resident if not removed. ive read that if a snake is relocated out of it element that it will not survive? usually i am able to relocate the snake to a wooded, much less populated area within 5 miles from where the snake was secured.

Well, that's the eternal dilemma, isn't it, when snakes show up in heavily populated areas. It's almost inevitable that some uninformed yahoo will see a rat snake or corn snake and scream "Copperhead!" and chop the snake into pieces and then brag about how he saved his neighbors from certain death. This is how I came by my black rat snake, which was cruising a neighbor's back yard . . . luckily, she consulted me before going for the rake.
On balance, I would say that if a snake is in an area (residential or industrial area) with limited natural habitat close by. it's better to relocate it to a safe place some distance away. The odds of the snake finding a winter den and other necessary resources for survival in the new area are not very good, but they're probably better than the odds of being beheaded or run over in the old one. Just my take . . .

What sort of snakes are you talking about? Compared to many of the "snakeheads" on these forums, I am very inexperienced (2.5 years being passionate about snakes), but from what I've heard, Crotes are the only snakes where relocation out of a their territory means certain death. I may be wrong, and am interested in any other studies done dealing w/ this. My friend Jasonmc runs a snake removal business here in the SFV (www.Socalsnakeremoval.com), and can probably provide you w/ some better info.

reako45