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SUMTER COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A Sumter County man was treated with snake antivenin after being bitten by a cobra while apparently caring for the venomous reptile early Wednesday morning.

Jack Eugene Hildreth, 50, of Bushnell, called 911 at 12:21 a.m., and told the dispatcher he had been bitten by one of his venomous snakes.

He was transported by EMS to Leesburg Regional Medical Center in and then airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Additional antivenin was flown in from the Miami-Dade County Venom Response Team Wednesday afternoon to treat the victim.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Division of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident, but so far investigators have been unable to interview Hildreth for details of the bite because he has been unconscious.

Hildreth received a permit from the FWC to possess venomous reptiles. His permit expires Jan. 7, 2009.
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ORLANDO SENTINEL (Florida) 01 May 08 Sumter man clings to life after cobra bite (Willoughby Mariano)
A Sumter County man was fighting for his life Wednesday after being bitten by what investigators think was an exotic venomous cobra.
Jack Eugene Hildreth, 50, of Bushnell dialed 911 dispatchers from his home about 12:20a.m. saying one of his poisonous snakes bit him on the thumb, said Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Hildreth was able to talk to rescue workers immediately after the attack but later lost consciousness.
A medical helicopter flew him to Orlando Regional Medical Center, and a special antivenin bank in Miami-Dade County flew two shipments of the substance to Orlando to combat the poison. He was in critical but stable condition late Wednesday.
Deadly snakebites are extremely rare, Hill said.
Dogs kill three times more people than do snakes, according to data provided by the state wildlife agency.
Deaths from venomous snake bites averaged about five per year from 1991 to 2001.
Cobras are not indigenous to Florida, and reports of bites are unusual, Hill said.
Owners must be licensed by the state to keep venomous reptiles, a process that requires that they submit lists of their poisonous snakes and letters of recommendation, and demonstrate they have experience with the animals.
Hildreth's license expires in January, she said.
Cobra bites are extremely dangerous, said George VanHorn, owner of Reptile World Serpentarium in St. Cloud, which extracts snake venom and sells it for research purposes.
The poison paralyzes muscles, making it difficult, if not impossible, to move, talk or breathe.
But hearing and sight remain, said VanHorn, who also had to fight for his life after being bitten by a king cobra in 1995.
"If this guy's lying on a table, and they're asking, 'What venom is it?' he can hear, but he can't tell them anything," VanHorn said.
This is the second time in a year that a bite from one of Hildreth's snakes has drawn attention from authorities.
In June, a thief stole five snakes — two of them venomous — from Hildreth's backyard serpentarium in the 1600 block of N. West Street, according to a Sumter County Sheriff's Office report.
Jonathan LaFever, 21, of Bushnell was arrested in the case after Wal-Mart workers found him in a bathroom stall, bleeding from a snakebite.
LaFever told deputies he drank four beers before taking the snakes during a burglary spree in which he broke into cars and stole a cell phone, digital camera, pencils and a drivers license, among other things, according to a report.
LaFever is serving five years in state prison on burglary and theft charges.
On Wednesday, Hildreth told rescue workers that an Indian cobra bit him, said Capt. Ernie Jillson, who is in charge of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Venom Response Team, which shipped antivenin to Orlando for Hildreth.
Team members shipped 10 vials of that snake's antivenin to Orlando about 6a.m., Jillson said.
But Hildreth didn't respond to the medicine as well as doctors hoped, so 10 more vials of the same antivenin plus 10 more of a different type were shipped in.
Indian cobras are rare in the United States because India has stopped exporting the animal, VanHorn said.
FL Press: Sumter man clings to life after cobra bite

TAMPA TRIBUNE (Florida) 03 May 08 Wildlife Officers Waiting To Speak To Hospitalized Snake Bite Victim (Keith Morelli)
Tampa: Florida wildlife officers will wait until next week to speak with a Bushnell man who was in critical condition after he was bitten by a pet cobra.
Jack Eugene Hildreth, 50, was bitten on the thumb Wednesday and was admitted to Orlando Regional Medical Center on Thursday.
The Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Venom Response Team, which stores and ships antivenin for all kinds of bites, shipped 20 vials of cobra antivenin to the hospital.
Team chief Al Cruz said Friday that some bite patients require less antivenin and some require twice as much.
Cruz said that while calls for antivenin across the southeast has risen since the team was formed 10 years ago, bites from exotic species like the cobra bite in Bushnell make up only 2 percent of its business.
Antivenins are as varied as venomous snakes. The venom response team's antivenin bank has antidotes for every venomous snake. People bitten by exotic snakes should make note of what kind of snake it is, Cruz said.
But for anyone bitten by an indigenous snake, except for a coral snake, identifying the viper makes no difference because the antivenin administered is the same, he said.
The venom response team also provides antidotes for other types of bites, including those from venomous arachnids like black widow and brown recluse spiders.
Calls for antivenins for exotic snake bites are few because of the difficulty in getting permits to keep such animals, he said. The regulations require experience in handling exotic species and most who have permits know what they're doing, Cruz said.
During the past few years, bites from venomous snakes indigenous to Florida have decreased, he said, thanks in part to education about how to avoid contact.
Snake bites are most common between April and October, when local reptiles become more active.
Hildreth, 50, called 911 after midnight Wednesday saying he had been bitten by his pet Indian cobra. He was conscious when paramedics arrived but lost consciousness soon after, authorities said.
Hildreth has a permit, which expires Jan. 7, from the state to possess venomous reptiles.
Wildlife Officers Waiting To Speak To Hospitalized Snake Bite Victim