Florida man bitten by poisonous snake may end up in jail for keeping it as pet

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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, but it bit him on the thumb Saturdya.

Chamberlain’s parents realized it was a coral snake and rushed him to the hospital. 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.

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Material from the Associated Press was used in this post.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.