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Article: Pet owners name their poison; More Minnesotans are buying venomous snakes.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- July 19, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Chuck Haga; Staff Writer
A pet African cobra bites its owner, a Duluth man who stops at a tavern for a beer before going to the hospital. He is treated with antivenin sent from a Milwaukee zoo.
News of the weird, or news of the increasingly common?
"I know there's about two dozen people in the Twin Cities area who have cobras," said Troy Tjepkes, owner of Exotics & Aquatics, a Columbia Heights pet store that specializes in reptiles. He bases his estimate on inquiries from people looking to buy or sell.
"I'd say there's between 1,000 and 2,000, maybe 3,000 venomous reptiles being kept in the state," he said.
"It's an ...