The Jackson County Sheriff's Office has charged a man after deadly venomous snakes were discovered in a home he shares with his mother and a child.
Deputies went to the home to check on a report of possible drug activity. Instead of drugs, they found the collection of snakes in a backroom.
Some of the snake cages were found near a baby’s crib.
"It was very concerning to us," Sheriff Janis G. Mangum told WSB. "The Department of Family and Children's Services were notified of that because it's very dangerous. Very dangerous for anyone in that house, but a child?"
Rangers with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources were called in to seize the snakes, which they identified as two Gaboon vipers and a cobra. The snakes are illegal to own without a permit.
According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, Gaboon vipers, also called Gabon vipers, are usually docile but extremely venomous. They have the longest fangs of any snake.
Mangum told WSB that keeping venomous snakes inside a home is a terrible risk to everyone.
“Just because you have them in a container, doesn’t mean they can’t get out,” she said.
The DNR’s investigation is continuing and another man will be charged with illegally possessing the cobra.
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