A long-time venomous snake owner reacts to the Florence man's handling of an inland taipan before it bit him

FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) — Florence resident Jeffrey Leibowitz was bitten by the world's most venomous snake – the inland taipan – in his home on Sept. 6, city police said, and a lifelong snake keeper was “stunned” by the way Leibowitz handled the snakes.

After seeing several posts of Leibowitz's videos on Facebook, Al Coritz said Leibowitz did not properly treat or care for the children in his Marion Street home.

On Friday, Leibowitz posted a video on Facebook confirming that he had been bitten by the inland taipan.

Coritz said the plastic containers shown in Leibowitz's posts are not suitable for keeping snakes in for long periods of time because they can easily crawl through the cracks.

He also said that if you handle them freely without a snake hook or pliers, it would only be a matter of time before the snake would strike back.

“You can't predict anything with these animals,” Coritz said. “I think I was completely stunned when I watched him handling the little taipan and saw his little tail wagging, which means, 'I'm very excited. Don't bother me. I don't want you to touch me.'”

Coritz has owned 67 different species of venomous snakes since 1973 and has an important permit to purchase some of his snakes. He said he has loved the unique reptiles since he was young and has developed a passion for educating people about the venomous creatures he owns.

Some of the snakes he owned included a blue pit viper, water cobras, and even a taipan.

“This is a lifelong passion. I started keeping non-venomous snakes as a teenager and got my first venomous snakes probably in 1973,” Coritz said. “I had my own passion for these very specialized animals that have changed over the centuries.”

“Certain components in their bodies are converted into poisons and a transport system for these poisons is created, especially for predators,” he continued. “This has always interested me a lot, I'm a biologist by profession, so it all came about quite naturally.”

Coritz has invested so much time and passion into learning about his pet snakes and believes that having anti-venom on hand should be a must for all venomous snake owners.

Although Coritz said it can be very expensive, some costing over $4,000 per vial, it's worth it. Leibowitz has his antidote flown in from out of state.

“This one happens to be polyvalent, meaning it neutralizes the venom of many Australian snakes in one bottle,” he said. “It's like you live 10 hours from the nearest fire station and your house catches fire. What's going to be left in your house in 10 hours when the fire department finally arrives? Not much. So this is like having your own local fire department in your house.”

While many in the reptile community purchase their non-venomous and venomous snakes at reptile shows, Ultimate Reptile Show owner Maria Marinopoulos said her show tours all over the U.S. and was at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center last month.

She said that each state has different laws and regulations, but that Leibowitz did not adopt his from her show.

“It wasn't sold at our show. It was delivered to the show,” she said. “It had nothing to do with the show. It was a deal made through Facebook and another seller who was a friend of the person who sold the snake. They delivered it for Jeff.”

She said that while the Ultimate Reptile Show does not accept liability for Leibowitz's situation, its staff will continue to review protocols with snake vendors and implement new safety measures in the near future.

Coritz said the venomous snake community should come together and practice safe snake handling and wished Leibowitz a speedy recovery.

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Gabby Jonas joined the News13 team as a multimedia journalist in April 2024. She is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University in May 2023. Follow Gabby on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, and read more about her work here.

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