Snakes

Over 150 Snakes And An Alligator Discovered In Pennsylvania Home

A man was recently found dead in his home in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. The startling discoveries didn’t stop there though. After authorities responded to the scene, they discovered that the man’s house was also home to more than 150 snakes and an alligator. More than 50 of those snakes were venomous. It was initially believed that the man died from a venomous snakebite, but the autopsy debunked those inclinations. Yahoo News has the story.

George Diaz, the owner of a nearby exotic pet shop is helping authorities sort through the collection of reptiles.“Venomous snakes don’t want to bite you. It takes a day or two for a venomous snake to kill a human. It takes 15 seconds for a human to kill a venomous snake,” he said. “We have to look over them for mites, body scaring, mouth rot. Anything that is detrimental, but I haven’t seen anything like that most of the snakes are very healthy. But things can come up these could be wild-caught, I don’t know the ancestors,” Diaz continued.

The snakes and the alligator will all be quarantined for at least two weeks until the next steps are determined. “The whole thing it’s for the animal. The animal has to be taken care of first and everything else falls into place later,” Diaz said.

It’s believed that the recently deceased man along with the other homeowners were illegally buying and selling exotic reptiles. Aliquippa city code also does not allow for venomous snakes or alligators. As a result, those homeowners will likely be facing a fine of up to $1000 per animal.

Authorities Find 100 Snakes in Dead Man’s House in Maryland

It’s a shockingly similar situation to what unfolded in Maryland earlier this year as well. Authorities found a man dead in his Maryland home which he shared with roughly 100 venomous and nonvenomous snakes. On Wednesday, the man’s neighbor found him lying unconscious on the floor in his home in Pomfret, about 30 miles south of Washington D.C., and promptly called for help.

Usually, when there are dozens of deadly reptiles surrounding a body, the animals tend to be the reason for the untimely death. Thankfully, though, this wasn’t the case for the Maryland native. As it turned out, the man was actually an experienced caretaker of the 124 snakes. Some of the reptiles were actually illegal in the state. Other types of snakes in the home included cobras, black mambas, pythons, and rattlesnakes, officials said.

Each scaly pet had its own enclosure and received sufficient food, water, and environmental conditions they needed. Animal officials on the scene even confirmed that the humidity and temperature of the enclosures closely matched the conditions of their natural habitats.

The situation was surprising, to say the least. It’s not often that someone owns more than a couple of pets, let alone over a hundred snakes. “Our chief animal control officer said in his more than 30 years of experience, he had not encountered this kind of thing before,” said Jennifer Harris, a Charles County spokeswoman.