Man aiming for snake record
2008-07-11 09:52
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Daleen van Manen
Hartbeespoort - In spite of a nerve-wracking moment with a mamba on the toilet and another mamba head almost up his nose, Martin Smit is doing well after 27 days in a snake cage with 40 deadly snakes. He is relaxed and determined to leave the cage with a Guinness World Record.
Mad Martin, as he is now known, wants to spend 110 days in a glass cage full of mambas, cobras, boomslangs and puff-adders at the Chameleon Village Snake and Animal Park. He wants to beat Austin Stevens's world record of 107 days. Stevens visited Martin at the park last weekend.
"Look at my place. The mambas break everything," he said. A black mamba knocks a kettle from the cupboard. "I now put away the crockery and my camera is on a low tripod because the snakes have knocked it over a few times".
On top of everything, he has to pull off two green mambas from his laptop before he can get to work. "They have moved in on top of the computer as if they understand technology". One of the snakes already drinks water from his hand.
Mamba in his face
A black mamba apparently wanted to get to know Martin a little closer this week. "I was sleeping while sitting up because there was a puff-adder under the sleeping bag. When I woke up, the black mamba was already on my lap and on its way to my face. And can you believe it, she tasted me with her tongue and then pushed her head into my nose".
He's certainly not bored. How could he be with these mischievous snakes causing so much trouble? They have all gotten names on account of their behaviour. There is the busy boomslang Duracel, Arnold the puff-adder who stays on the exercise machine, and Dexter, the green mamba who appears to be computer literate.
Martin's experiences in the snake cage are being broadcast live from the website www.madmartin.co.za. "Come visit me," he invites everyone. The park can be contacted on 012 - 2535119.
- Beeld