Coon Rapids man at odds with city over reptile collection

Under other circumstances, the room off Scott Nellis' entry into his split-level Coon Rapids home might be used as an office or a den. Nellis uses it to house about 70 boa constrictors and pythons.

They live in cages stacked floor to ceiling along all four of the room's walls. A row running down the center cuts the room in two. Peering through glass doors are snakes of all sizes. The smallest weighs less than a pound. The biggest - an Argentinean boa, one of Nellis' favorites - weighs 28 pounds and measures about 7-1/2 feet from tongue to tail.

That's just upstairs.

Throughout the house, Nellis has about 360 snakes. Most live in clear plastic dresser drawers stacked atop each other in the basement. Each is carefully

A Thayeri king snake from Mexico, held by Steve Nellis in a room in his Coon Rapids home. (Pioneer Press: John Doman) labeled with the species's name, sex and the date it was purchased, creating a gigantic filing system of snakes throughout the lower level.
The UPS driver also has 60 lizards, about 250 rats and mice and two huge tubs crawling with cockroaches. The rodents and roaches are fed to the reptiles. The snakes and lizards are personal pets and inventory. Nellis - a snake breeder - sells them at reptile expos across the Midwest.

The years-long gig - he started in 1996 but ramped things up in 2004 - ran uninterrupted until October, when the city found out about his unusual roommates after a neighbor complained of a foul smell coming from a pile of discarded wood shavings in Nellis' backyard.

Now, Nellis finds himself in a fight with Coon

Rapids officials who say his 700-plus animals have rendered his home unsafe and unfit for human habitation. They have ordered him to get rid of them.
He's hoping to convince city officials otherwise at a meeting Friday, March 23.

"This is my private life we're talking about," Nellis said. "It's my contention the city has no business whatsoever trying to dictate what I do legally inside my house."

When it comes to health and safety, the city begs to differ, said City Attorney Stoney

Laboratory-style white rats bred for snake meals, in the home of Steve Nellis. (Pioneer Press: John Doman) Hiljus. He said a search of Nellis' home in October uncovered several potential risk factors.
Among them, inspectors found a web of extension cords used to regulate lighting and temperature for the reptiles that pose a fire hazard, Hiljus said.

Officials also said his setup in the upstairs room - cages create two narrow passageways and partially block a set of windows - is hazardous if firefighters must respond to a call from the house.

Last, a check of air quality in the residence found ammonia levels in excess of 20 parts per million, Hiljus said. Animal waste creates ammonia.

Most homes register less than one part per million. At high levels, the substance can cause respiratory issues, Hiljus said.

To top it off, the city's 2010 revised domestic animal ordinance prohibits private ownership of pythons and boas. Nellis also technically is not allowed to operate a business out of his home without a conditional-use permit.

"I understand Mr. Nellis' standpoint that this is his home and he should be able to do what he wants within his own four walls, but we can't ignore what we see," Hiljus said, explaining that without the neighbor's complaint, Nellis might have been able to continue his business and hobby for years.

The neighbor, Ken Botzet, could not be reached for comment.

"Now that we're aware of these code violations, we have no choice but to get involved," Hiljus said.

What that involvement will mean is unclear.

The city council voted earlier this month to table action on city staff's order that Nellis clear his house of all his animals. Instead, they've advised staff to try and negotiate with the snake lover, who developed a fondness for reptiles after searching for frogs and garden snakes at his grandparents' lake place in Mahnomen County in northwest Minnesota.

To Hiljus, a successful negotiation would mean Nellis getting rid of all his pythons and boas. In addition to the exotic snakes, Nellis also has more than 100 Colubrid snakes that aren't forbidden by city ordinance. Those numbers would be whittled to a "reasonable amount," Hiljus said.

Nellis says he has invested about $40,000 in his snakes and equipment over the years, with most of the money tied up in

Steve Nellis handles an 8-foot-long Australian olive python in the basement of his home. The Coon Rapids man keeps more than 300 snakes, lizards, rodents and insects in his home. (Pioneer Press: John Doman) pythons and boas. To get rid of them would be tough, particularly in this economy, and would affect his ability to breed reptiles.
Even more so, it would hinder his hobby.

"This is what I do. I enjoy interacting with reptiles. They're different. They're calming. I enjoy watching their behaviors," he said.

To compromise, Nellis said he'd buy an air purifier to help cut ammonia levels and reduce the number of snakes to about 260 or 300.

But he doesn't want to let all his pythons and boas go and feels it's unfair of the city to demand it, particularly because he bought most of them while city ordinance still allowed them.

Instead, he said, he'd like to see the city change its ordinance back, a move Nellis said makes a lot of sense considering the city already allows pet stores to sell them. He also points out that neither species is venomous.

Hiljus said the city modeled its animal ordinance after others in the state and said it would be up to the council to change it. He's hopeful a reasonable solution can be reached within the confines of the ordinance, he added.

Keith Streff, senior humane investigator for the Animal Humane Society, said Minnesota cities have various rules when it comes to wild animal ownership, including some ordinances addressing snakes.

Though the longtime animal agent said he's never seen so many snakes in one house and called Nellis' setup "highly unusual," Streff said that Nellis seems very knowledgeable about snakes and that all of his reptiles seem properly cared for.

Its unclear what will happen if negotations stall at Friday's meeting.
www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_20225110/coon-rapids-man-at-odds-city-over-reptile

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