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.
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.