RALEIGH, N.C. -- A Raleigh man took himself to the hospital over the weekend after being bitten by his venomous pet snake, WRAL reports.
His pet was a venomous green mamba snake and antivenin had to be flown in from a zoo in South Carolina.
"If you get bitten by a green mamba with antivenin, your chances of survival are very low," said Sean Foley, curator of herpatology at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina. "It's a neurotoxic venom, so it's going to affect your breathing."
Time was of the essence when the man showed up at UNC Rex Healthcare in Raleigh on Sunday.
The North Carolina Poison Control Center called Foley and enquired about green mamba antivenin.
"This is the third time in six months or so that we have had to supply antivenin for a venomous bite," Foley said.
Staff at the Riverbanks Zoo packed a cooler with 10 vials on ice and drove to a nearby Lexington Medical Center.
A helicopter then flew the cooler to UNC Rex Healthcare.
The man who was bitten is expected to recover after he was treated with four vials of antivenin.
The Raleigh Police Department's animal control unit is still investigating the circumstances surrounding the snake biting the man, but police said the snake is back with its owner.
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