HISSSY FIT!
He puts hand in snake cage, gets bit, kills pet
HE’S NO SNAKE charmer.
A 27-year-old Staten Island man was hospitalized after his illegal pet, a highly venomous East African gaboon viper, literally bit the hand that feeds it, police said Saturday.
Michael Larneard reached into the snake’s tank to clean it and remove its shedded skin when the slithering reptile latched onto his hand at about 11 p.m. Friday , officials said.
The East African gaboon viper is considered one of the world’s deadliest snakes, according to the website liveoutdoors.com. It’s also considered one of the 10 most venomous snakes in Africa.
In a panic, Larneard grabbed a fishing knife and cut off the snake’s head as it hung from his hand, police sources said.
First responders rushed Larneard from his apartment on Richmond Ave. near the Staten Island expressway in Graniteville to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx for treatment, officials said.
The hospital has the only snake-bite treatment center in the tri-state area, its creation spurred by the nearby reptile house at the Bronx Zoo.
Doctors told Larneard that he dodged being injected with any venom from the bite. He checked out of Jacobi Medical Center against the advice of doctors there at 9:26 a.m. Saturday, officials said.
Cops removed the dead viper carcass from his apartment and found a live boa constrictor in the same tank.
Both snakes are illegal to own in the city, officials said.
Luis Valentin, 21, NYPD auxiliary cop, said his mother saw police removing two large metal cases from his Larneard’s apartment Saturday morning.
“My mom thought it was something about drugs,” Valentin said. “But it happened to be he had exotic animals.”
Larneard’s neighbors were shocked to learn that there were deadly snakes just feet from their front door.
“That’s crazy,” said one neighbor from across the hall who wished not to be named. “I had no idea.”
Cops gave Larneard a court summons for keeping illegal exotic animals, officials said. He could face a $500 fine, officials said.
Attempts to reach Larneard were unsuccessful Saturday, but a man — his face covered with a hoodie — was awfully venomous to reporters when he was spotted going into the snake owner’s apartment.
“Eat a d--k!” the man screamed at reporters. “Eat a fat f-----g d--k live on camera!”
Larneard has slithered into trouble with the law before.
He’s been arrested six times since 2005, including a knifepoint robbery in 2006, police sources said.
East African gaboon vipers can reach about 6 feet in length and weigh about 45 pounds.
Their fangs can be up to 2 inches long.