More than 100 snakes were found inside a dead man’s home located in Charles County, officials in Maryland said.
Officers responded to the 5500 block of Raphael Drive in Ponfret, Md., after a neighbor who went to check on the man and saw him lying unconscious on the floor called authorities for help, police said.
Fire and EMS had to break through the front door, police said. That’s where they found the body of a 49-year-old man dead inside. The police did not release his identity as of yet.
Police did say that there looks to be no foul play, and an active investigation is ongoing. The office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore will perform an autopsy.
124 Snakes, both venomous and nonvenomous, were removed from the home. Jennifer Harris, a spokeswoman for the Charles County Government, said the snakes included king cobras, spitting cobras, black and green mambas, pythons, and rattlesnakes. A 14-foot Burmese python was the largest of the reptiles removed.
Police said the reptiles were found in tanks situated on racks.
“He was very meticulous, it seems, in the caretaking and keeping of the reptiles,” Harris said.
Harris said Charles County Animal Control coordinated with reptile experts from North Carolina and Virginia to assist in the “unusual” situation. Harris went on to say that it is illegal in Maryland to possess venomous snakes.
Harris did say that there was no evidence any snakes got loss or escaped.
