SEBASTIAN SUN (Florida) 14 December 04 Sebastian home cleanup includes check for ex-tenant's reptiles (Tony Judnich)
Sebastian: An ongoing renovation of a house on Schumann Drive not only involves repairing damage from the recent hurricanes, it also aims to ensure there are no venomous cobras, rattlesnakes and other reptiles slithering about.
That's according to city Code Enforcement Officer Antoine Van Meir. He said the man who used to rent the house recently moved — along with his creatures — to Palm Bay after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials cited him for improperly securing his reptile cages. Officials found some walls of the house stained with blood and marked by fangs, Van Meir said.
The former tenant, Edward J. Bellucci, 26, and the homeowner, Terry White, of Brevard County, could not be reached Monday for comment. The house is in the 900 block of Schumann Drive, west of U.S. 1 and south of County Road 512.
Bellucci lived in the home for about three years, but it wasn't known how long he had the reptiles there. He collected various creatures, but didn't sell them, local officials said.
"He had maybe 20 cobras, 15 rattlesnakes of all different species, 10 to 12 turtles and tortoises, at least two Gila monsters and six descented skunks," said Vero Beach Animal Control Officer Bruce Dangerfield, who helped investigate the reptiles at the house. "And he was breeding rabbits and mice to feed the snakes."
The cobras, rattlesnakes and Gila monsters — a lizard native to the American Southwest — are venomous, Dangerfield said. He said Bellucci's collection included cobras which can blind people by spitting venom at them.
"Bellucci) had spitting cobras, there was venom all over the glass (of some aquariums)," he said. "None of these cages were locked."
Local officials said Bellucci did not have a conservation commission-issued license to keep the exotic pets. Commission officials could not be reached to find out if Bellucci has since gotten a license.
Dangerfield was amazed the commission issues licenses for venomous reptiles.
"With most of the snakes he has, like the black Pakistani cobra, it probably wouldn't do any good to call paramedics (if someone was bitten)," he said. "The victim) would probably be dead before they got there.
"It just doesn't make sense to give permits to anyone to keep something like that," Dangerfield added. "If you want a pet, get some tropical fish, or a dog would be good."
Dangerfield said he himself owns nonvenomous snakes but keeps them in state-approved pens.
White, who reportedly is a U.S. Customs agent, sprayed a chemical on the walls of the house after the pets were gone, Van Meir said, to allow officials to see blood stains on the walls. They weren't sure what kind of blood it was or how it got on the walls.
He said White wanted Bellucci and his live-in girlfriend to leave the house because of the reptiles, but couldn't get them to move, so he notified city officials.
Venomous reptiles, by city law, may not be kept at a city residence. Van Meir gave Bellucci a notice of violation of the city ordinance but, by moving his pets out of the city within a certain time, Bellucci came into compliance.
"By Nov. 1, they were gone," Van Meir said, adding that local officials did not witness the move.
"I know (White) has since then had the house (fumigated) to kill anything that might still be in there. He took a lot of walls apart that didn't need to be taken apart because he wants to sell the house and not ever be at risk from someone dying because of a snake."
Dangerfield said there is no antivenin for victims of some snake bites, and the antivenin for some snakes isn't stored at local hospitals.
Van Meir said he notified Palm Bay officials about Bellucci.
Sebastian home cleanup includes check for ex-tenant's reptiles