LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — A 19-year-old southwest Florida man could land in jail after recovering from a poisonous snake bite.
Eddie Chamberlain told the News-Press of Fort Myers he was at his girlfriend’s house July 23 and saw the snake threatening a neighbor’s son and cat. He says he grabbed the snake and put it in a fish tank.
Days later it bit his thumb. When Chamberlain’s parents realized it was a coral snake, they rushed him to the hospital where he was treated with anti-venom.
He is on probation for a 2013 breaking and entering charge. If the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission charges him with keeping the snake as a pet and issues a fine, he could be jailed for violation of probation.
The snake was released into the wild.
