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DETROIT NEWS (Michigan) 07 December 04 Canton owner of 50 snakes recovers from poison bite, faces charges
Canton Township, Mich. (AP): A suburban Detroit man will have to give up his dozens of venomous snakes, including the deadly nine-foot pit viper whose bite sent him to the hospital, and may face a fine as well, police say.
Rudolph Hatfield, 51, of Wayne County's Canton Township is recovering at Detroit Receiving Hospital after one of his more than 50 snakes bit him Saturday. Hatfield was upgraded from serious to good condition Monday.
On Sunday, Detroit Zoo staffers removed the Bushmaster viper from the home and quarantined it at the zoo, said zoo spokesman Scott Carter. The snake is indigenous to the rain forests of South America.
Sgt. Rick Pomorski said the man violated a Canton ordinance that bans the personal possession of venomous reptiles in a home. It carries a $500 fine.
Pomorski said the man is married and has children, but his wife and family only live in the home part time. He said the man ordered the Bushmaster by mail. The snakes can cost from $1,000 to $1,500.
Police are negotiating with a reptile zoo to take the other snakes. Until then, the snakes are in their tanks and remain locked in the home under police surveillance, Pomorski told the Detroit Free Press.
"Obviously, they need to remove (the snakes) and they need to do a search in every area that snakes may be able to hide out," neighbor Harvey Pack told The Detroit News.
Canton owner of 50 snakes recovers from poison bite, faces charges

FREE PRESS (Detroit, Michigan) 07 December 04 Bedroom in Canton crawling with snakes - All 51 have to go, township police say (Naomi R. Patton)
When he's released from the hospital, a Canton man bitten Saturday by his own 9-foot pit viper can expect a $500 citation for possessing a dangerous reptile in his home -- and possibly an empty house.
Canton police found 50 other venomous snakes in the bedroom of the man's home on Brighton Lane.
Sgt. Rick Pomorski said the 51-year-old man, whose name has not been released, violated a Canton ordinance that bans the personal possession of venomous reptiles in a home.
He said the snakes must go.
On Sunday, Detroit Zoo reptile staff removed the 9-foot bushmaster (Latin name: Lachesis mutus) from the home and quarantined it at the zoo, said Scott Carter, Detroit Zoo director of conservation and animal welfare.
Police officials are negotiating with an out-of-state reptile zoo to take the other snakes. Until then, the snakes are in their tanks and remain locked in the home under police surveillance, Pomorski said.
Zoo staff also inventoried the snakes for police, he said.
Canton police found the snake's owner Saturday in a ditch at Cherry Hill and Beck roads.
He told EMS workers that he had been bitten by his bushmaster and had tried to drive to a relative's home.
Pomorski said the man is married and has children, but his wife and family only live in the home part time. He said the man ordered the bushmaster by mail. The snakes can cost from $1,000 to $1,500.
The man was in serious condition over the weekend, police said, but his condition improved Monday at Detroit Receiving Hospital, where he was given the antivenin provided by the zoo.
"The first thing they do is say, 'Oh, expletive!' " said John Trestail III, managing director of the DeVos Children's Hospital Regional Poison Center in Grand Rapids, about snakebite victims.
Trestail said the purpose of a venomous snake's bite is to slow its prey ("or you'll never get dinner", kill it (otherwise it might, rightly, try to claw its way out of the snake's mouth), and, ultimately, liquefy it from the inside out to enable digestion.
The venom, a hemotoxin, destroys red blood cells, disrupts blood clotting or causes severe clotting and can damage other tissues in the body.
Carter said cases like this are not uncommon.
A couple of weeks ago, he said, the zoo's reptile staff quarantined another bushmaster that bit its owner in Commerce Township.
Carter said they returned the snake to its owner since the township has no ban on keeping venomous reptiles.
Eric Tobin, president of the Michigan Society of Herpetologists, said there is no state law against owning a poisonous reptile.
The cities of Lansing, Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor ban poisonous reptiles, and the City of Detroit bans the personal ownership of all reptiles, he said.
Tobin, a self-taught herpetologist, said most snakebites occur during feedings or are alcohol-related.
If a handler has fed several snakes at a time, a snake, which relies on scent, could mistake a handler's hand for the meal.
Quetah Osborne, 34, lives across the street from the man, and said she and her neighbors were surprised to learn about his large collection of snakes.
She said she didn't know her neighbor personally but said they always waved to each other when he walked his dog each morning.
He looked like a gentle teddy bear, she said. "If you saw him, you wouldn't even think he had that many snakes."
Bedroom in Canton crawling with snakes

DETROIT NEWS (Michigan) 07 December 04 Canton snakes spread anxiety - Owner hospitalized for venomous bite by his pet illegally housed 52 others. (Shanteé Woodards)
Canton Township: Residents in one neighborhood of this booming Wayne County suburb aren't happy to find out that they've been living near some of the deadliest snakes in the world.
"They're the enemy," said Harvey Pack, who has lived in Canton Township for 26 years. "I don't have any other outright fears, but that one is a fear. One reason I live where I live is because we don't have a whole ... lot of poisonous snakes."
Rudolph Hatfield, 51, of Canton Township is recovering at Detroit Receiving Hospital after one of his 53 pet snakes bit him Saturday. Hatfield was upgraded from serious to good condition Monday at Detroit Receiving Hospital. His pet snake, a Bushmaster, bit him while he was trying to clean its cage. The Detroit Zoo has possession of the 6- to 7-foot snake and it is being quarantined. Canton police are seeking authorization to obtain the snake and dispose of it.
Police expect to make a decision today about Hatfield's remaining 52 snakes; Monday was their first opportunity to interview Hatfield. It is illegal to possess a venomous reptile in Canton Township. It is a civil infraction with a $500 fine.
Most of Hatfield's remaining snakes are venomous, but police said the risk is minimal to the surrounding neighborhood south of Geddes.
"There is a risk to people inside the house, but the risk is minimal to those outside the house," Sgt. Rick Pomorski said. "With the cold weather, the snakes would not be able to exist and live outside. If this were August, it would be a different story."
That doesn't soothe the fears of residents like Pack, who said he is concerned about the danger to residents, especially children.
"Obviously, they need to remove (the snakes) and they need to do a search in every area that snakes may be able to hide out," Pack said
The Bushmaster snake is indigenous to the rain forests of South America. It bite is highly venomous and can be lethal if not treated immediately. Officials from the Kentucky Reptile Zoo sent antiserum to the hospital.
Canton snakes spread anxiety

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