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No Cure For Venom of Burgled Snake Says Owner

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 27, 2009

small-eyed viper

albino timber rattlesnake

Dave Lawson says he knows one way to learn who stole two valuable but deadly snakes from his collection Monday.

"We'll know who stole it, because he'll be in the hospital or the morgue," he said.

Lawson, 45, of Zephyrhills, operates Victoria Reptiles, an importing and exporting business for exotic animals, out of his home.

Someone broke into the carport he had converted into a "snake room" on Monday and took two snakes: a small-eyed viper called a bitis parviocula, or Ethiopian mountain adder, and an albino timber rattlesnake.

The viper is valued at about $10,000 and the rattlesnake at about $15,000, according to a report from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

Lawson didn't have insurance to cover the loss. He's concerned about who might have the snakes. There is no known antivenin for the viper, and the rattlesnake's bite is among the worst a person can receive, he said.

"I was bitten in August," Lawson said of the rattlesnake. "It took 22 vials of antivenin."

Kevin Doll, a sheriff's office spokesman, agreed with Lawson that the burglar must have some knowledge of snakes. The main door to the snake area was dented and the glass on one of the aquariums was broken, but nothing else was missing, the report states.

"Instead of buyer beware, this might be a case of burglar beware," Doll said.

Doll asked anyone with information about the burglary to call the sheriff's office toll-free at (800) 854-2862.

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