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Day 3: FWC continues search for escaped cobra in Ocala

OCALA, Fla. — The search for a missing 2-foot monocled cobra entered its third day Thursday, and there are still few clues on where the snake is hiding.

An apprentice was watching the snake Monday when it escaped its enclosure at a home on the corner NE 5th and NE 9th Ave. in Ocala, said the cobra’s owner, Brian Purdy.

Purdy told Channel 9 on Tuesday that he believes his 4-foot black monitor lizard in the home might have eaten the cobra, because its stomach appeared enlarged.

Officials from the Florida Fish Wildlife Conservation Commission said it's still a possibility that the snake is curled up somewhere in the home, but they told Channel 9's Myrt Price Thursday that they'll expand the search area back outside and possibly neighboring homes in hopes of finding the venomous snake.

FWC crews said they have already opened up walls and inserted cameras in the Purdy home to look for the cobra.

If the snake did make it outside, it would not have survived the cold weather Wednesday night, FWC officials said.

"Are you concerned with what's going on?" Price asked a resident.

"Yes, not only for me, (but) my daughter and everyone else," the neighbor said.

Some neighbors have suggested that reptiles should be microchipped like dogs and cats.

"If people are going to have those kind of venomous snakes, I don't know anyone in their right mind who would want one, but they ought to have some way if they get out, or lost, they can find them," said resident Opal Jennings.

Eyewitness News will continue to follow this developing story and will have more on wftv.com.