FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — Just hours before Jeffrey Leibowitz was bitten by one of the world’s deadliest snakes, he apparently handled the reptile freely and posted advice on social media about how to keep it at bay.
“There’s no need to be so scared of them if you just know their limitations and you use them,” Leibowitz apparently said in a video posted online around 7:50 p.m. ET on Sept. 5.
By 2 a.m., that same inland taipan snake sent him to the hospital. Police said Tuesday morning that he was still hospitalized in serious condition.
A viewer told NewsNation’s WBTW that social media pages belonging to a Leibowtiz show photos and videos of him handling many different types of snakes, including several known to be venomous. His public, verified Instagram page has 15,000 followers and more than 2,800 posts.
WBTW asked the viewer for permission to show the footage but has not received a response.
The page features dozens of short-form clips, known as “reels,” depicting the man believed to be Leibowitz handling several of the animals — a dangerous method discouraged by the African Snakebite Institute, Rattlesnake Conservancy, state Department of Natural Resources and other such organizations.
“Often if one is calm when working with a snake and does not restrict its movement too much, the snake may be reluctant to bite. However, these animals are still unpredictable and at any moment the situation can turn bad,” the African Snakebite Institute says on its website.
An Aug. 31 post on Leibowitz’s Facebook page shows a man petting an inland taipan: “They have nothing in their DNA whatsoever that says, ‘be friends with humans. I just want to get him used to my presence.”
Police began investigating on Friday after Leibowitz was bitten in the webbing between his index finger and thumb, a police report said. The snake, one of 14 venomous snakes he owned, is native to Australia and is known for having the most potent and dangerous venom among its species.
Police obtained a search warrant and contacted state wildlife officials for assistance in handling the snakes. Police who went to Leibowitz’s home encountered “substandard living conditions” and dangerous snakes in plastic totes with holes big enough that they could escape.
The search yielded two cats and 14 snakes, including one green mamba, two gaboon vipers, one fer-de-lace, one death adder, one eastern diamondback rattlesnake, two black forest cobras, two adult rattlesnakes (species unknown), two neotropical rattlesnakes, one small rattlesnake (species unknown), and one inland taipan.
Leibowitz’s father told police that his son had been given antivenom even though the police report said due to a prior inland taipan snake bite in recent months, the antivenom was in short supply.
During their investigation, police talked with an EMS supervisor, who said Leibowitz was known on social media for having a large collection of venomous snakes in his home. Officers then looked at videos Leibowitz had posted on Facebook, which included one where he asked if anyone had antivenom for an inland taipan, reports said. He then said he would be at McLeod Hospital.
Will Dillman, assistant chief of wildlife at South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said it was unlikely that any zoo or reptile sanctuary would accept the snakes because of their conditions and unknown diseases they may have. Officers contacted multiple organizations, including River Banks Zoo, Alligator Adventure, Reptile Lagoon, Edisto Island Serpentarium, and South of the Border. However, none would accept them due to the safety risks they could pose.
Eventually, the snakes were secured and Leibowitz’s father gave police permission to have them euthanized.
The man shown on Leibowitz’s Facebook and Instagram pages often spoke in hushed tones to the snakes, calling them “cute” and admiring how much they enjoyed cuddling.
“She’s fine. She’s a good girl. I love her,” he said on Aug. 31 as a South Pacific rattlesnake coiled around his arm. “Unfortunately, sometimes she tries to bite, but we’ve talked about it … They all give what they get. Give them lots of love, that’s what you’re going to get.”