FRUITHURST, Ala. (AP) -- Officials seized two illegal poisonous snakes, including a deadly African Puff Adder viper, from the home of a man who apparently sold his collection of snakes at shows and over the Internet.

Officers from the state Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries division arrested the man for possession of two non-native poisonous reptiles and two others he had previously sold. He was also charged with illegally possessing a raccoon. He faces up to a $500 fine for each count.

Besides the viper, the man had a Western Diamondback rattlesnake caged up, officials said. The two non-native snakes were among about a dozen poisonous snakes officers found in cages that were not properly secured, making the home dangerous to anybody inside it.

Dan Spaulding, collections curator at the Anniston Museum of Natural History, accompanied officers on the raid: "They were like loaded weapons lying around," he said.

State law forbids the possession of non-native poisonous reptiles, though one can own native species.

Officials did not release the man's name.

The African Puff Adder is a leading cause of snakebite death in Africa. Bites are often fatal and those that aren't usually result in some degree of disfigurement or disability.

Museum officials said they would contact zoos in Birmingham and Atlanta to find a hoem for the seized snakes.