Deadly Snakes Legally Sold Near Philly
You won't believe what you are able to buy legally in Pennsylvania: Snakes that can kill you within minutes if you don't handle them safely.
Slideshow: Deadly Snakes For Sale Near Philly
Fox 29’s Steve Keeley made an exotic buy in the Philadelphia suburbs last weekend and survived it in this Fox 29 investigates report.
"We live in a time when everybody wants an animal with the biggest, baddest bite on the block. A lot of people have pitbulls, others have rotweillers,” Keeley says. “I just got myself an Egyptian Cobra, $125. Perfectly legal and no questions asked right here in Pennsylvania.”
We brought our undercover camera to a reptile show at the Philadelphia Expo Center near the King Of Prussia Mall last weekend. We wanted to see just how easy it would be to buy one of these dangerous snakes.
We saw hundreds of people at the show, dozens hovering over the venomous snake tables, some buying, some browsing.
We bought our cobra from a Florida breeder and importer. It only took a few minutes and 125 bucks.
The snake came coiled-up in this flimsy plastic container. It seemed better suited for an apple pie than a deadly snake.
The sale was completely legal. Pennsylvania, unlike New Jersey and Delaware, has no laws regulating the sale and possession of exotic venomous snakes.
It's one of 24 states where you can buy the world's most dangerous snakes without a permit. About a dozen states restrict sales.
We talked to the buyers, sellers, and shoppers here and found some surprised their kids could get this close to a killer snake. There's no safety glass like at the zoo. And kids will be kids.
Vipers, cobras, rattlesnakes were all for sale, but they don't come with directions or anti-venom serum to save you if you get bit.
Our Egyptian Cobra is among the most deadliest and aggressive snakes: it's bite can kill a full grown elephant in less than three hours, and an average man in a matter of minutes.
"I don't recommend anybody buying a venomous animal, personally," Dr. La'toya Latney says.
Latney is an exotic pet vet at Penn’s School Of Veterinary Medicine and says something this deadly should never be bought on impulse.
These snakes weren't evolved to be house pets.
"For those who are going to consider to do it, although my recommendation is not to do it, be aware of the type of snake it is in the world so you know what you're dealing with in captivity, and then have a plan for an accidental bite."
And since these snakes are not native to this area or even this country, chances are the local hospital you may be rushed to after a bite won't have any of that anti-venom serum either.
Is the danger real? Just listen to the guy who sold us the cobra.
"You have these holes in the sides. And a lot of people, which i like to warn them, like the kids who like to up and touch them, these guys can sense heat and there have been people who have been tagged through these holes."
If you're wondering what we did with our new pet, we just handed it back to the sellers and never asked for our money back.
And we made sure we didn't lose track of it like the Bronx Zoo did with another Egyptian Cobra in March.
So if experts have trouble sometimes handling these the question is: Should just anybody be allowed to buy one?
For now in Pennsylvania, unless lawmakers do something, the answer is Yes.