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NJ Man Critical After Bite From Pet Snake

FAIR LAWN, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A New Jersey man is in critical condition after he was bitten by his pet snake.

Fair Lawn police said the 25-year-old bought the albino Monocled Cobra, an eastern diamondback rattlesnake and a copperhead snake in Pennsylvania on Monday.

Police said the man thought their venom sacks had been removed.

Sgt. Rich Schultz told The Record newspaper the cobra bit the man Monday night and the man had trouble breathing.

The man, whose name has not been released, was transferred to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. The hospital says it has the only snakebite treatment center in the Tri-State Area.

An animal control officer removed the snakes from the home.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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