Man Found Dead in Home Surrounded by Largest Collection of Snakes County Officials Have Ever Seen

A Maryland man was found dead inside his home and police say he was surrounded by 125 various snakes he had kept in tanks inside the residence, CBS News reported.

Officials were called to the residence in Pomfret which is located in Charles County to do a wellness check after neighbors found him unconscious on the floor of his home when they peaked into the window, CBS News reported.

When officials arrived at the home Thursday, they found the 49-year-old resident on the floor, surrounded by over 100 "venomous and non-venomous snakes of different varieties ... in tanks situated on racks," officials said.

Officials have not released the man’s identity and apparently lived alone. His neighbors were unaware he had snakes in his home, CBS News reported.

Jennifer Harris, a spokesperson for Charles County Animal Control, told WRC-TV the breeds included pythons, rattlesnakes, cobras and black mambas.

Officials said the snakes were "meticulously cared for" but some were venomous and illegal to have in the state of Maryland.

“Nobody seemed to be aware that he was harboring snakes inside the home,” Harris later told NBC News.

The cause of the death is still pending completion of an autopsy. Harris stressed there are no indications of foul play or that any of the reptiles killed him, NBC News reported.

“We don’t anticipate that there was any security issue with any of the snakes escaping," Harris said to NBC News. "He was well-known by his neighbors in the community, but nobody had just basically ever been inside his home to know that this part of the home life was going on."

Harris made the rounds to local media outlets following the discovery of the body and the reptiles, and said that it was the biggest collection of snakes the county's animal control chief, Ed Tucker, had ever encountered in his more than 30 years of experience.

"I do want to assure the community, [and] anybody living in this neighborhood, we have not seen that any of the snakes were not properly secured or could have escaped," Harris told WUSA. "I know people were worried that there could be some danger to people living nearby, but at this point, we have not uncovered or determined that any of the snakes actually were not secured after this gentleman's death."

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