SPCA: Alligator, Rattlesnake Recovered From Suffolk County Home

Two illegal and dangerous reptiles were recovered from a Central Islip home late Tuesday morning, according to Suffolk County SPCA.

SPCA officers and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police seized a 3-and-a-half-foot alligator and a 5-and-a-half-foot diamondback rattlesnake from the home after they responded to a tip that there were reptiles inside the residence.

“I want to make it clear that possession of an illegal reptile is against the law.” Suffolk SPCA Chief Roy Gross said. “These are not the type of animals that you want as pets. They’re extremely dangerous and extremely unpredictable.”

Those who were in possession of the reptiles are likely to face illegal possession charges, he said.

Suffolk County SPCA and NYS DEC Police are investigating the incident.

“This is the fifth incident in less than five months that we recovered reptiles on the Island,” Gross said.

In late July, a 3-foot-long crocodile was found inside an open cardboard box in a Melville parking lot.

Images via SPCA