The REAL Cobra Commander!!!

A British carpenter has attempted to slither his way into the record books by spending four months in a room filled with poisonous snakes only to be rejected by Guinness.

David Jones, 45, spent 121 days in a tiny 16-by-13-foot room at the Chameleon Village Reptile Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, with two black mambas, two green mambas, seven boomslang, 27 puff adders and three cobras as his only roommates.

It wasn't easy, but it was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for this snake lover from Sussex, England.

Think you've got bad roommates? David Jones -- pictured here interacting with a cobra inside his "snake house" at the Chameleon Village Reptile Conservation Park in Johannesburg, South Africa -- lived with dozens of venomous snakes for 121 days.

"Snakes have been a passion of mine ever since the age of 10," Jones told AOL News in an e-mail interview. "I have no idea where this fondness came from, but I do remember catching and keeping my first grass snake at about that age and how excited I was in having my first snake."

Although Jones kept pythons for many years, he stopped about 15 years ago. But he still loves searching for them, even when he's on vacation with his wife and kids.

Jones started eying the record 24 years ago when a man named Austin Stevens lived with poisonous snakes for 107 days. Besides wanting the pride that goes with holding a world record, Jones had other reasons for the snake sit-in.

"These snakes have long been favorite species of mine, and I wanted the challenge of not only breaking the record but of also being the first non-South African, non-professional snake handler to attempt the record."

But is it a record? Maybe, but it won't be acknowledged as one by the folks at Guinness.

Guinness spokeswoman Sara Wilcox said Jones has submitted a record claim but that the organization will only accept an attempt for the record "Most rattlesnakes, bathtub sitting." Guinness has not yet received any documentation on this attempt.

Wilcox also said Guinness wants to discourage future attempts like this.

"Snakes are solitary animals, and we've been advised to not encourage Guinness World Records record attempts where they are forced to live together for long periods of time as there is a possibility of opportunistic cannibalism depending on the species," she said. "Our animal expert has also advised against exposing such animals to human presence for long periods of time."

Jones said that Guinness told him they haven't acknowledged any previous sit-ins and have no interest in adding the category.

Although he could land his way into the record books if he chose to submit his bathtub encounters with snakes, he has no plans.

"I have no interest in the bathtub," he insisted. "This was always about spending time with these creatures and about the time in the room. [Snakes] are fascinating, and I'm very lucky to have been given the opportunity."

Jones prepared for the four-month snake sojourn by flying to South Africa twice so he could spend a little time with the snakes and get to know the people who would be looking after him while in the room.

"Before my first visit, I had never handled a cobra, a mamba or any highly venomous snake, so handling them was something I needed to do as much as possible," he said.

Luckily, the tiny room didn't feel as much like a cave as he expected, more more like a self-contained room with large potted plants and some extra scaly guests.

"It did take a little getting used to, but after a few days it all felt perfectly normal," he said. "I don't recall ever wanting to hide away or not wanting to talk to the public."

Still, once Jones stepped into the snake room, his life slowed to a crawl -- and so did his metabolism.

"My diet changed in that I stopped eating the lunch that was being provided for me, as having three meals a day was too much considering my relative lack of activity in the room," he said. "Apart from that I ate completely as normal."

Being up close and personal with the snakes allowed Jones to start to see them as individuals.

"All the different species had their own personalities, but only one snake seemed to have his own personality: a snouted cobra I nicknamed 'Halfcocked,' as he had a habit of sitting in one of the branches semi-hooded, as a cobra does," he said. "He would stay like that for an hour at a time and strike down at me at the slightest movement.

"Usually, I was nowhere close to his striking distance except on one occasion when I leaned across to water the plants, hadn't noticed him and very nearly took a couple of bites on the head. He was the only snake to attempt to bite me during the entire sit-in."

How serious was Jones about becoming the "snake man"? Serious enough that he took five months off from work and sequestered himself away from his wife and his son.

"I had sufficient funds already in place to allow for this, so, to me, it didn't feel like I was sacrificing anything, except not seeing my wife and son for four months. That was the hardest part of this record," he said.

Some people might go crazy after breaking a world record -- even one no longer recognized by Guinness -- but Jones didn't have that option.

"Since I decided to stay in the room for another week after breaking the record, the only celebration was a few handshakes from the people at the park and a bottle of champagne brought up to me by the park owners," he said. "There were five of us there. We all had a quick drink and then back to work. My real goal and, to me the achievement I wanted, was to spend the full 121 days in the room."

Jones said the experience helped him learn minute details about his favorite creatures that he wouldn't have learned otherwise.

"You learn all manner of things about an animal if you spend 24 hours a day with them for four months," he said. "From how they react to people and movement, to their favorite place to go to the toilet as well as how they eat, when and what they eat and how active they are."

It was Jones' job to feed the snakes once every week or two. The park would bring him a tub filled with rats and one filled with mice, and he would offer each snake an appropriately sized meal.

"Feeding all the snakes would take two days," he said. "Some snakes would eat more than one meal at a time, and some would not eat at all."

Besides learning, Jones used the four months in captivity to educate the locals about snakes in general.

"The most shocking experience to me was realizing how many myths and legends there are in South Africa about snakes," he said. "People have these beliefs based, not on knowledge, but on stories handed down and made taller in the process. There's a lack of basic knowledge and understanding of a creature that is all around them and, as a result, it is demonized and killed.

"Bringing some knowledge to as many people as I could throughout my time in the room became a priority of mine. Having people realize snakes are not indiscriminate, random killers, but animals that would rather move off and hide and avoid human contact was something I tried to convey to all those who talked with me."

Now as Jones decides to what the next step is for getting his achievement recognized as a record, he has spent the last week or so reconnecting with his wife and son. Naturally, they are happy to have him back.

"My wife is feeling relieved that I have come back alive and that the family is now back to normal," he said. "It has been a hard four months for my wife having to manage the house while I'm gone, work, and keep my son occupied and help him to overcome his fears that Daddy will not come back," he said. "My son, Toby, has missed me a lot and is also very glad to have me home.

"He was four years old when I went into the room and I'm sure he didn't fully realize the potential consequences of what I was doing. But as time went on, he became fully aware and started to worry. My wife has been quite fantastic in helping him to overcome this fear and keep him positive."

Dude...what would cause a man to abandon his family for four months and live in a room filled with snakes? This is just weird.

I thought you meant this guy:



I saw him yesterday and thought of it instantly when I read the thread title.

Stupid is s stupid does.

What a Flurking idiot!