Snake Rescue & Relocation Pensacola

With all of the rain we've had (and more on the way), many of our lowland creatures will be seeking higher ground as their homes become flooded 🐍 🐢

Please be mindful of them when you're driving after these heavy rains. On my way to take my daughter to camp this morning, I got two turtles out of the road in two separate places, and this was just in a span of about ten miles.

ONLY STOP IF IT IS SAFE FOR YOU TO DO SO.
I have found that if you put your blinkers on and slow down, other drivers are more than happy to help by doing the same thing until the animal is safely out of the road.

A snake is very easy to scoot out of the road with a stick, but a turtle you must pick up and set it on the side of the road where it is safe, and in the direction that it was already headed 💚

Snapping turtles in my personal experience are the biggest victims of car strikes during and after heavy rains. It is very difficult to pick them up if you've never done it before, but it's also very doable if you just Google it.

Drive safe out there!
Phones down, eyes on the road 🙏

🚨 Edit. Thank you all so much for the shares! PLEASE follow up by emailing (and calling if you have time) the proper authorities listed below. It's not enough to share, we MUST communicate with law enforcement and our representatives or this is all for nothing 🙏

Alright guys, we need all hands on deck. Many of you might remember the alligator we reported on back in March that disappeared from a water retention pond that was managed by FDOT off of Avalon Blvd in Milton. This alligator lived very near to my house, and aside from myself, everyone that lives out here on the Garcon Point peninsula loved her and looked forward to seeing her everyday. When she disappeared, we all noticed immediately. I knew she didn’t qualify as a “nuisance alligator”, as she was not in a public place, but was in a water retention pond on the side of a busy road, surrounded by a tall fence that was locked at all times.

So I reported it to FWC. FWC investigated, and as a result, three men have been charged for illegally catching her on March 15th and transporting her to a private residence, where she was then killed with a power drill.

These three men were only charged with a 2nd degree misdemeanor, which is odd because Florida Statute Section 379.409 states that “ANYONE WHO INTENTIONALLY KILLS, INJURES, POSSESSES, OR CAPTURES AN ALLIGATOR WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION COMMITS A 3rd DEGREE FELONY”.

If you or I had done this, we would have been hit with that felony. So why did these guys get a pass?

The names of the men that were charged with 2nd degree misdemeanors for allegedly illegally catching Allie and killing her with a power drill are:

-Kevin Robert Lacz
-Richard Frederick Reder
-Jason Robert Griffin

Are some people above the law? I hope not, but it's starting to look that way unless there are some details I'm missing that were not included in the offical report or my FOIA request. Does military service exempt you from being held accountable if you commit a felony? I'm just asking, I genuinely want to know.

These men need to be charged with the 3rd degree felony that the law demands; the same 3rd degree felony that would be waiting for any one of us had we done the same thing. We're not playing "rules for thee but not for me".

The American alligator is a Federally protected, keystone species. If Florida isn’t going to do anything about this, maybe the Feds will, which is why I have included contact information below to report this case to US Fish and Wildlife.

The court date for these men is this Thursday, June 19th. I want to encourage all of you to please contact the proper authorities and demand an explanation as to why these men were not properly charged. “Whoopsies, I didn’t know I needed a valid permit” isn’t going to cut it. These are grown men in their 40’s and 50’s. I’m betting they know the law very well.

DO NOT HARASS THESE MEN. Take your concerns to the proper authorities. These calls and emails need to go out immediately to all of the people and departments below. Please help! Florida is already being destroyed by developers. At some point, we’re going to have to push back or we’re going to lose everything that we love about this place. Standing up for Allie is a great place to start. But we don’t have much time. Please flood these offices with your concerns. No one should be above the law. And Allie shouldn’t have been unceremoniously taped up, thrown in the back of a truck, and killed with a power drill.

I will put a sample email you can copy and paste in the comments, though I encourage you to write your own if you have time. Phone calls are also necessary. As well, I am attaching the full report (which is a matter of public record), to this post so you can read it for yourself. If you make a call or send an email in defense of Allie, asking why these men were not charged according to Florida Statute 379.409, please comment below or send us a private message so we can keep track of the community support. Thank you for reading. I have a lot of other stuff going on in my life right now and don't need the stress of negative comments, so I will not be responding to them. And hateful comments will be removed.

Jon Creamer, regional director of FWC for our area
(850) 265-3676 [email protected]

Roger Young, executive director
(850) 487-3796 [email protected]

Sheriff Bob Johnson, Santa Rosa County
(850) 983-1100 [email protected]

Ginger Madden, DA, SRC
(850) 981-5500
[email protected]

Alyssa Caputo, assistant state attorney
[email protected]

Trey Myers, chief SRC attorney's office
[email protected]

FWC law enforcement division
(850) 488-6251

US Fish and Wildlife tip line:
844-397-8477
https://www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips

We love updates on our beautiful Aceso from our friends at Florida Native Snake Rehabilitation & Rescue 💚 Look at our girl! I love her face 😭 Thank you so much to Ashley Rogers, Shasta Tsoukias, and Cory Woliver, DVM for saving her life. We love you Aceso!

***For those of you that haven't been following her story, I will post links in chronological order down below***

1) The day we found her: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1WZKrcPa9Q/
2) Surgery: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ACqtSTjZQ/
3) X-rays: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DgGLcmfBF/
4) Post-surgery update: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A1mw4QcUU/
5) Off to rehab: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1F6AM58L6p/
6) Thriving in rehab, the first time Ashley or I ever heard her rattle 💚 https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17dMfoAKy6/
7) Surgery Q&A with pics: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16X43F7J4r/
8 ) Feeding catheter removed: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GpdP9HYaZ/
9) More X-rays: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AKfvAs7Ja/
10) X-ray results and treatment plan moving forward: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HEqLKY5g7/
11) Beginning to eat solid food: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DTtinpBqz/
12) Spa day: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FBVzpWC7h/
13) Trying to eat on her own: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ab9tea4L6/
14) Tube feeding with assistance: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1662652115097671
15) Sassy spa day: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1933808387204055
16) Back home as an official ambassador for her species, checking out her new place: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18gbrCANyi/
17) Striking a pose: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HP3ySoSX2/

Checking in on Miss Aceso, our ambassador Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. She’s looking better than ever… even though she eats with her mouth open. 🤭
We are so glad she is actually able to open her mouth, an accomplishment only made possible with the help of our expert veterinarian, Dr. Cory Woliver. Aceso was found in the road several months ago after being hit by a car. She sustained very serious injuries; a concussion, a fractured jaw, a large open laceration, and a dislocated jaw. (You can view Aceso’s full story if you scroll back on our page). After many months of intense treatment and rehabilitation we were finally able to get her all healed up, but sadly the resulting disfigurement prevented her from surviving on her own in the wild. We were then successful in petitioning FWC so that she could be declared as “Non-releasable wildlife” and eventually be placed here at our facility as an ambassador. So far, she has been settling in very well and not missing any opportunities to make her presence known!

*Our small snakes-only wildlife rehabilitation facility operates on an equally small budget. If you’d like to help us help more snakes like this one, we are grateful for donations! All funds collected go towards veterinary care, medical supplies, and food for our rehabilitation patients. You can donate at either of the platforms below. Thank you!

Venmo:
https://venmo.com/u/ShastaTsoukias

OR PayPal:
https://www.paypal.me/ShastaTsoukias

Story time. But not the good kind, unfortunately.
🚨 Warning. Graphic photos in the comments.

A few weeks ago we received a message from someone wanting to know if the snake in her front yard was venomous. She had just moved here recently from out of state, and isn't familiar with our snakes, or any snakes at all really. So she did the right thing by seeking positive identification. The snake had been hanging out for some time, and she just wanted to be sure it was safe to walk by him 🐍

The first picture here is the very first picture she sent us. He was so handsome! Beautiful creature. After letting her know he was just a harmless corn snake, she was relieved, and opted to let him stay. Not only did she choose to peacefully coexist with the snake living in her front garden, but she named him Bartholomew, and both she and her daughter looked forward to seeing him every day.

It's always so amazing to see a wild animal in it's natural environment. Not in a zoo, not under glass, but thriving under the sun and feeling the breeze and hearing the birds the way God intended. I wish more people understood what an absolute honor it is to see one of Florida's beautiful native creatures in the wild, the way this homeowner did.

Unfortunately, this wonderful family that had grown so fond of Bartholomew messaged us with the sad news a few days ago that he was injured. He had disappeared for a bit, and when he showed back up again, one of his organs was hanging out of his body, and he had several puncture wounds. We dispatched a volunteer to pick him up, but he passed away before she arrived.

Bartholomew was most likely mauled by a cat. A dog would have done more damage. A bird would have dropped him far from home. Another wild animal would have eaten him. But cats....they play with snakes (and songbirds) like toys, and once they are mortally wounded and can't put up a fight anymore, the cat becomes bored, quickly loses interest, and leaves its victim to suffer a long, slow death.

Once wounded, Bartholomew used what little strength he had left to return to the place he felt safest; to the "home" that this wonderful family provided him 💙

Unfortunately, his injuries were unsurvivable.

This is absolutely not how this story should have ended. This story should have lasted another 10 years. But it didn't. Because cats.

I love cats. I have three of them. But I keep them inside, because that is where they belong. It's not only to keep the native wildlife safe, but to keep my cats safe as well. I love them so much, which is why I don't let them outside and endanger their lives by exposing them to all kinds of dangers, from cars and coyotes, to diseases like FIV.

Our cats deserve better. Our native wildlife deserves better. And Bartholomew deserved better. He didn't deserve to suffer and die for a few minutes of feline entertainment. Let's all try and do better. It's never too late to make a positive change 🙏

To Carmen and her daughter, thank you so much for your kindness towards Bartholomew and for sharing his life with us. Though I am saddened by his premature death, the fact that he changed your view of snakes in the short time you had together proves that his life was a life well lived 💚

Another thing I'll (Ashley) go ahead and address. We know that the more attention our page gets the higher the chances get of attracting weirdos and scammers. Here is another one to watch out for. This "gentleman" is an animal trapper out of Atlanta and has been spam commenting on all of our posts. As you can see, he doesn't actually have concern for snakes, he kills them for money. He is proud of his work and boldly posts it all over his websites and social media. We often do step on the toes of those who get paid to do what we do for free. We've been responding each time but I'll address these concerns here as well. I could just block him but I see it as a really good opportunity to educate anyone who may have similar concerns.
I'm going to post my response to him in the comment section below and as always, if you ever have any concerns or questions about our work we are happy to answer! Just know if you spam comment on all of our posts and then ignore our responses we may have to respond a bit more publicly.

⚠️⚠️ WARNING SCAM ALERT ⚠️ ⚠️

We are not selling "merch" and never have. If you see this on our page please do not click on these links. This is a scam. Be especially suspicious if they start tagging members. We do our best to block and report them but these bots are FAST.

Thank you once again to the wonderful Ashley Rogers for teaching another great class on the native snakes in our area!

She went over identification of the 6 venomous snakes in our area (7 if you include the northern cottonmouth), snake physiology, habitat loss, coexisting with snakes, and how to dissuade snakes from taking up residence in your yard.
She also went over relocation techniques for non-venomous snakes including the proper, most gentle way to pick up a snake, proper tools to use, improper tools to use, and how important it is to keep snakes as close as possible to the home range and microhabitat they are being relocated away from when necessary 🐍

Thank you so much to everyone that came out to learn about our native snakes today! They are one of the largest groups of displaced animals due to overdevelopment in Florida, which is the sole reason for the rapid increase in human-snake interactions. So I am so grateful to each and every person that came out to learn about the importance of these beautiful native creatures, and how to peacefully coexist with them while also keeping our kids and our pets safe 💚

We also gained 3 new volunteers that will be shadowing us on non-venomous calls throughout the rest of the year before we turn them loose 🥳 All in all, an awesome class! VERY special thank you once again to Hurd Real Estate & Co for hosting our class this year. You were absolutely fantastic and went above and beyond to give us the perfect event space we needed, and we couldn't be more grateful for your kindness 🙏

Alright guys. I have to tell you about all of the effort that went into saving this little rascal today, and in the process, you might just read the feel-good story you didn't know you needed.

We received a rather frantic message this morning regarding a cottonmouth in someone's car 🐍
A woman, Katie, was leaving to take her daughter to camp when she spotted a snake in her car. This was just after 6 am. Unfortunately, we didn't receive her message until a few hours later (everyone was at work). By the time I saw her message, it was around 11 am.

I called Katie immediately to see what was going on, and tried to determine how a cottonmouth might get into her car. They're not climbers.
Katie explained that she had picked up a tire and put it in the back of her car, and that the snake must have been in the tire. Fair enough. That was a very reasonable explanation, so I believed that she might very well have a cottonmouth in her car. With no photo available, we didn't really have a lot to go on, but we pushed forward nonetheless.

I asked Katie if she would please keep her windows rolled down until we could get someone over there so the snake didn't overheat and die. YOU GUYS. Katie informed me that when she got out of the car, she rolled up all the windows AND PUT THE AIR CONDITIONER ON FULL BLAST FOR THE SNAKE, not wanting him to die 😭

Can we just take a moment here? This woman, believing that she had a venomous snake in her car that she was terrified of, understood that it was one of God's creatures, and didn't want it to die. With gas at almost $4/gallon, she kept her car running with her air conditioner on FOR ALMOST 9 HOURS.

She could have simply turned off her car, rolled up the windows, and walked away. The snake would have been dead within the hour. Her car would have been "safe". But she did the opposite. Not knowing what else to do, her first concern was keeping the snake safe on this hot day until she could figure out what to do next.

A few more hours passed, and we still hadn't found a relocator to get over there. Thankfully, the awesome Philip Iversen offered to go over after work 🙏 We are so thankful he took the call because the situation was starting to look pretty dire. And in hindsight, I don't think any of the rest of us would have had the knowledge or strength to rescue this snake, given what happened next.

When Philip took the call, he thought he was just going to catch a snake, release it, and go on home, like he's done so many times before. How hard could it be?

You guys. After working all day in the hot sun, Philip HAD TO DISMANTLE THE CAR by taking the seats out to find the snake! I'm sure he had no idea when he took the call that he would be doing manual labor to save this little snake 😅

But save the little snake he did! A sweet little banded water snake 💚 All this trouble over the course of 9 hours to save this adorable little creature.



More of this please 🙌
With every act of kindness, no matter how small, we help the entire planet level up.

VERY special thank you to Katie for restoring my faith in humanity, and another VERY special thank you to Philip for dismantling a car after a long day at work, all for the this little rascal 🥹

Safe travels little noodle! If only you knew how lucky you are. I imagine you'll go on to do big things, because if not, I really have no other rational explanation to explain how people came together for you today to save your life, when it would have been so much easier to walk away. May you never run into another human (or car) for the rest of your long life 💘

We want to give a huge shout out to our friends at Hurd Real Estate & Co for hosting our annual class this year! We love to see local businesses supporting this grass roots conservation effort, to help our native animals by teaching others how to peacefully coexist. We'll be at their main office at 306 Gulf Breeze Parkway this Saturday morning. We hope you'll join us 🐍 Please RSVP by sending us a private message at Snake Rescue & Relocation Pensacola

I absolutely LOVE this photo! It was sent to us yesterday by a woman at a baseball game in the fields by Navarre High School. Even through that small space between logs, it's easy to spot the head of the cottonmouth. Absolutely iconic 🤩

There were hundreds of people at the fields yesterday, so she was obviously concerned and didn't want anyone to get hurt. Eventually, I'm guessing someone would have messed with the snake, and that is when over 80% of medically significant injuries occur, so I'm thankful she reached out to us 🐍

We did not have any relocators available yesterday, but fortunately I knew someone in the network so I reached out to him. He was there within 10 minutes of my call, and I am happy to say that this beautiful creature was successfully relocated away from people 🙏 For now anyway. Because I feel like developers won't stop until every last tree in Navarre has been cut down, and every last glade has been filled in.

I wish you all could have seen Navarre 30 years ago. It was an unspoiled, desolate paradise. It is very difficult for me to even drive through there now 💔 Last relocation I did there last year was for a cottonmouth in someone's backyard, and there were literally old cypress knees all over the property. I explained to the homeowner that his house was built where there was once a glade and a stand of cypress, and that the snakes just hadn't gotten the memo yet 😔 Another Navarre relocation I had last year, a woman from New Jersey in town to check on her Airbnb property off of 399. After I removed the snake from the side of her brand new investment rental (built in a place I used to hike), she told me about what a nuisance the bears are and asked me how to keep them out of the yard. It felt like being slapped in the face. I didn't know what to say.

This thing we do....relocating snakes....it's not because we're obsessed with snakes. It's because we feel powerless against the machine, and this feels like the only thing we can do. Yes, saving snakes is a teeny tiny thing, but it's got to be better than nothing, right? The concrete monster expands it's tentacles a little more every day, and with it, human and snake interactions will continue to rise, as these native animals try to survive in what very little of their native habitat remains. I feel very much like these snakes; like a native animal trying to survive in this ever dwindling ecosystem.

I wish there was a resolution to this, but there's not. In 30 more years the Florida Panhandle that we love so much will be unrecognizable to us, and I feel like there's nothing we can do to stop it. I won't be able to stay here when that happens. It hurts so much now, I think my heart would break completely if rows of apartments, airbnb patio homes, Dollar Generals, storage facilities, and Wawas popped up anywhere near where I live. I moved to a place with bad cell service and no pizza delivery on purpose. It's paradise to me. But the more people that move here from out of state, the more likely the businesses are to follow.
The tearing down of trees just a few miles from my house has already started, and on beautiful clear days, the bird songs are already interrupted by the sounds of dumptrucks hauling away the remains.