72 Snakes Found In Apartment..Mom Charged With Misdemeanor Child Abuse

Officials said someone noticed a strong scent on one of the kids at school

A team from Albuquerque New Mexico Criminal Nuisance Abatement Unit has red-tagged the apartment where officials have found 72 live snakes, at last count.

Animal welfare officials said they spent Monday afternoon at the Las Kivas Apartments on Tramway Boulevard, where they seized several reptiles and numerous snakes -- most of them boa constrictors.

Tuesday, the Criminal Nuisance Abatement Unit continued its inspection of the property.

Pictures taken by the unit of inside the apartment show crowded conditions, with holes in the floors and walls.

Criminal Nuisance Abatement Unit members said the odor was significant as they entered the property.

"It was piled high, full of trash, feces," said unit member Vivian Gonzales.

The living space was shared by 72 live snakes at last count, as well as other reptiles, officials said. Officials had seized 50 snakes Monday, but have since found more in the apartment.

The reptiles are being held at the Westside Animal Shelter, where officials are looking for people to foster them.

There were also other animals in the apartment, both alive and dead.

"There were also deceased snakes that were merely thrown into a tub," said Lt. Jay Gilhooly of the Criminal Nuisance Abatement Unit. "A number of dead rats, mice, that we would assume would normally be used to feed the snakes."

Three children, ages 8, 6 and 2, also lived in the home. The children were sent to live with their grandparents.

"The oldest child no longer slept in her bedroom, which is upstairs, because of the trash, the feces and the snakes," said Vivian Gonzales with the Criminal Nuisance Abatement Unit. "I don't even know how they crawled around, ran around the house and played."

Officials said someone noticed a strong scent on one of the kids at school. The school then called New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, "to ensure that they were in good health and that they were properly cleaned up, for their safety," said Gilhooly.

Detectives said they've seen houses in bad shape before, but nothing quite like this.

"One of the worst that my detectives or inspectors have seen, in their years of experience with working with these kinds of properties," said Gilhooly.

City officials said it's now the responsibility of the apartment complex to clean up the apartment unit.

Police did not arrest the children's mother, but she was charged with misdemeanor child abuse.