Abandoned 'pet' rattlesnake removed from Jersey City basement

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

An extremely annoyed rattlesnake was removed from a Jersey City house yesterday and the illegal pet was not at all happy about being jostled by animal control officers trying to find it a more appropriate home.

"I was shocked," said Jersey City Animal Control Officer John Ross, who responded to the residence at Clinton and West Side avenues yesterday and found the snake in a fish tank with a screen top.

Ross took the 3-foot rattler to the Liberty Humane Society, near Liberty State Park, where state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Officer Linda Paul responded and loaded it into the back seat of her pickup truck.

The snake's rattle vibrated constantly and its body was coiled and ready to strike, officials said.

The brown snake had been kept as a pet by a first-floor tenant who put it in the basement when he moved out two weeks ago and told the landlord he would be back for it, said Jersey City Animal Control Officer Joe Frank.

But the tenant never returned.

Paul said it is illegal to own a rattlesnake in New Jersey and she intends to track down and fine the snake's owner.

She said she plans to find a responsible, experienced person to care for the snake somewhere where it is legal to own one. She did not know what type of rattler it is.

Paul said rattlesnakes are sold in Pennsylvania for as little as $25.

In December, two sheep were found in Jersey City.