Returning a Garter snake back in the wild bad?

[Philminator]

Not sure if this has been covered I found a few comments on google but not sure how reliable it is. I have 5 Adult garter snakes all wild caught, say I want to bring a few of them back in the woods must they be brought back within 100 meters of where they were found? I was told some snakes if not brought back exactly where they were found will not be able to access their hibernation den they visit year after year and will die
I've only had some of these Garters for a few weeks I am keeping my babies and about 3 adults but was thinking of maybe bringing back 2 of them. Any comments appreciated.

[FunkyRes]

I do not know about where you are, but in many places it is illegal to release snakes into the wild, even if they came from the wild.

The concern is that they may have picked up a pathogen in captivity that is not present where they are from (IE from fish, other pets, etc.).

In northern areas where they need deep dens to survive winter, ability to find a suitable den may impact their survival. There may be other impacts as well. I'm not sure any studies have been done on survival rates of long time captives released back where they were found.

[thinkmore]

It is illegal to release wild-caught animals back into the wild in Ontario without permission: Wildlife in Captivity

Whether I think not releasing them is justified in cases where an animal has only been in captivity briefly and hasn't been exposed to anything it can't get to in the wild... Would think they would give you permission in those cases anyway though.

I don't personally care to capture adult snakes in the wild unless they're in danger, just because they're used to freedom. That's another matter of varying opinions, lol.

[Didymus20X6]

I did read a report once that seemed to indicate that, if you release the garters near the site of another den, they will take up residence there, at least for that winter. Nearly all of the snakes in the study were found in the same area the following spring.