TRAVERSE CITY -- Some people like cats, others warm up to dogs, but Dustin James Kantz is a snake man.
Kantz, 22, kept about 10 snakes in his Blair Township home, including a venomous eastern massasauga rattlesnake.
It's the only poisonous snake native to Michigan, and it's illegal to possess the protected species.
But that's not the only unlawful thing Kantz had in his home. Grand Traverse County sheriff's deputies found drugs scattered throughout the house when they went in to confiscate the illegal pet.
Deputies showed up at Kantz's house on Thursday in search of Steven Michael Ramos, 20, who was wanted for malicious destruction of property. Kantz answered the door and told officers Ramos wasn't there. He then told officers he wouldn't let them in the house because he had an illegal massasauga inside and did not have a permit.
Officers left and confirmed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that it was illegal to possess the snake, then returned to the house with a search warrant.
Ramos came to the door this time, but he wouldn't let the deputies inside. Officers forced open the door and arrested Ramos. DNR conservation Officer Sean Kehoe confiscated the snake.
During the search, deputies found marijuana. They secured another search warrant and came back with a drug-sniffing dog and found marijuana and Oxycodone.
Deputies arrested Kantz on drug charges and Kehoe cited him for the snake. Kantz likely faces a fine between $100 and $1,000 plus restitution for the snake possession, Kehoe said.
"We have never, to my knowledge, seized a snake during a search warrant," Undersheriff Nathan Alger said. "It is unusual, but I'm glad we have the snake. The rules are there to protect the species. They don't need to be harassed by people catching them in the summer and taking them as pets."
Alger said he's also thankful Kantz spoke up about his slithery pet, because officers probably never would have noticed it otherwise.
Kehoe said he took the rattler home after he found it in the wild last summer. It measures about 12 inches long, but the snakes can grow about two to three feet long, Kehoe said.
"It's rare that you would see them, but we do have them," he said, adding that the massasauga population is scattered throughout the Lower Peninsula.
"They're generally a non-aggressive snake, as long as they're left alone," Kehoe said. "If you get bit by one, it's something that would probably require immediate hospitalization. There could be serious medical complications."
The dangerous serpent is staying at the DNR's field office in Traverse City while DNR officials decide what to do with it. They're unsure the domesticated creature would make it in the wild, so they're considering keeping it for educational purposes.
Kehoe said he investigates a variety of captive wildlife, but doesn't encounter many illegal pet snakes. More often, he finds people take in baby raccoons or fawns.
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