Redd, the red diamond rattlesnake that was captured on Seal Beach’s Catalina Avenue early last week, is now living temporarily at an animal hospital in Lake Forest.
Animal control officers from Long Beach Animal Care Services captured the diamondback on Catalina Avenue after a group of children discovered the snake while they were walking dogs. The Long Beach animal control agency delivered Redd to Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital in Lake Forest later in the week.
According to Dr. Scott Weldy, a veterinarian at Serrano, Redd cannot be released into the wild because there is a concern that when you move an animal from one area to another, you could also move non-native bacteria into that area. Redd will eventually have to be placed in a zoo or center that will display him for educational purposes.
In other words, he’s going to be in captivity for the rest of his life.
Weldy said that the biologists he spoke with said that red diamond rattlers such as Redd do not naturally range as far north as the Seal Beach area. Weldy also doubted speculation that Redd might have hitched a ride in an unsuspecting tourist’s vehicle as it would be hard to miss such a large snake. According to Weldy, Redd is 3-and-a-half to 4 feet long. Weldy said biologists believe Redd was being kept as a pet.
Weldy said the Pacific rattler is more common to our part of California.
