Reptile experts removed an 8-foot-long, 170-pound alligator from the basement of a Buffalo home and planned to drive it to a Florida sanctuary in the back of a minivan.

"Jojo" the alligator was removed Sunday from the home where it was raised after its owner called the state Department of Environmental Conservation and said he could no longer care for it.

John and Laura Paner, former Buffalo residents who run the Croc Encounters Reptile Sanctuary in Tampa, agreed to take custody and made plans to pick it up and drive it back to Florida.

It is illegal in New York to own an alligator without a permit, but officials said the man who raised it will not face charges because he turned himself in.

The man had built an indoor pond in his basement. He also owns more than 20 lizards and large snakes.