Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in PA and I was looking to legally obtain one...anyone have any info in their care and/or where to find them? I am not far from the susquhanna river system, yet I have never seen one yet.

i would check with your state dec/wildlife office to make sure they are legal to obtain, i know in NY you need a permit and have to show cause to legally have one. you may need to check federal protected species lists to, i don't remember if they are on ther or not. they are not as common as most people think in PA. they are more common in kentucky and tennessee and bordering states, though ohio has a good population. they are not common in the pet trade either due to restrictions and the fact that they are an uncommon species and don't seem to breed in captivity easily.

I would avoid getting a hellbender for several reasons:
1. Protected in most of their range (inc. PA)
2. Has never been captive bred (raised, yes but not bred...a park in Ohio called The Wilds is working in conjunction with the zoo I work at to replicate a stream and breed them under captive conditions, but it is slow coming)
3. Frankly, they make boring (albeit easy) captives--they just sit there most of the time
4. Their preferred diet (crayfish) can be hard to supply in captivity
That said; I would check and see what kinds of permits you would need to collect one if you really must have one (be prepared to shell out some money). Next, I would gather say 4 or 5 very strong, sure-footed individuals--you'll need them. In my experience working on population research projects with this species, you'll want to find a relatively pristine section of creek that has good flow (say .1-.3 m/s); is around a bend in the creek, is about 18"-24" deep and has an abundance of BIG rocks (say 20" long by 18" wide or so...or bigger)and start flipping rocks, and bring your good eyes...they can be sitting by your foot and you can miss them, even when they are 24" long! Don't just grab under the rocks either--common snapping turtles and spiny softshells like to hide under big rocks too, and I prefer not to surprise those guys if I can! After all that, if you are lucky enough to find one, bring a net--they are as slippery as eels! Bring a large bucket too...they dessicate quickly. If you do go hellbendering, patience is key--in all the projects I have worked on we will look for an average of 6 hours, flipping hundreds of very heavy rocks, and a good day would be the day we find, tag, and record about 3 or 4 hellbenders....although a new population (to science!) that we found in northern West Virginia seems to have a very high population density...we found 7 in a 30 yard stretch or creek! In closing, if you happen to find one and obtain it legally, I would be happy to give you all the husbandry info you need; but I must stress that hellbender hunting should be a catch and release activity, as this species is a good indicator of stream health and is disappearing as water quality declines, making it a species of special concern throughout most of its range, including here in WV, in PA, OH, KY, MD, and VA to name a few, although threatened designations come and go like seasons it seems!
Cheers,
Troy