OLYMPIA — Thurston County authorities have seized a nearly five-foot long illegal hybrid diamond back rattlesnake from an Olympia apartment.
The Olympian reports that a Thurston County animal control officer seized the snake on Sunday after a neighbor called with concerns. The neighbor said the man who owned the hybrid snake said he’d been bitten before and airlifted to a Seattle hospital. The man has other legal snakes.
State Fish and Wildlife Officer Greg Haw says hybrid snakes are dangerous because there isn’t anti-venom readily available that could be used as an antidote if it bit someone.
The snake’s former owner may face a potential civil fine of up to $2,000.
Officials say the hybrid snake will move to a reptile zoo near Monroe.
