A 25-year-old Cypriot man is in serious condition in an Athens hospital after being bitten by a pet cobra when he tried to feed it and it bit into his index finger, reports Reporter.

He was keeping 17 snakes, including venomous ones, in his flat in the centre of Athens, according to his friends. The owner was sent to hospital by the Indian cobra Naja Kaouthia. When the boy was brought to hospital, he could hardly speak and soon lost consciousness. Doctors decided to intubate him because he was unable to breathe and swallow.

The patient’s friends and parents organised for the antidote to be delivered to him on a private flight from Cyprus. The boy regained consciousness this morning, but medics thought it best to put him in an induced coma for the time being.

The Naja Kaouthia cobra is found mainly in India, China, Cambodia and Vietnam. This species of snake has a deadly venom that can kill a person within an hour.