FWC investigator Steve McDaniel said the snake is cold-blooded and may not have gone far due to the cold weather.

If you see a deadly suphan cobra in northeast Ocala, don't approach it.

Instead, call the state wildlife agency at 1-888-404-3922.

That was the word from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers stationed at 905 NE Fifth St. in Ocala on Tuesday, where the highly venomous serpent has escaped from its licensed owner late Monday.

The 2-foot-long tan-and-yellow monocled cobra, which, according to www.thailandsnakes.com is one of the most deadly snakes native to that country, got out of a sealed secure room in the home.

Police and wildlife officials carrying snake hooks were looking for it Tuesday. The FWC officers included some specialists. Officials said late Tuesday there was no timetable for cutting off the search and that even if the search were halted overnight, an officer would be at the scene at all times.

According to FWC officials, Brian Purdy, who has a venomous reptile permit, contacted them at about 11:15 p.m. Monday to say his cobra had escaped its enclosure at about 9 p.m.

Police officials were told that another man was shadowing Purdy so he could get his license to handle poisonous/venomous reptiles and snakes. He was at the home while Purdy was at work. The apprentice did not see the cobra in its confinement area so he tried different tactics to get the suphan cobra, a subspecies or color phase of monocled cobra, to move around.

The man then got a shield and lifted the top cover of the snake’s cage. The cobra jumped at him – almost standing straight up – and then slid away. The man made sure the room was secure and called the owner.

Purdy rushed home and began searching for the snake in the sealed room. After 1 1/2 hours of searching with no result, he notified the FWC.

An FWC captive wildlife investigator responded to Purdy’s house and officials with the Ocala Police Department and Marion County Fire Rescue also came to the home.

FWC officials said the apprentice should never have been in the sealed room without the owner present.

FWC investigator Steve McDaniel said Purdy received his venomous reptile permit in May 2016. He said obtaining the permit requires 1,000 hours of hands-on experience and letters from two people who are familiar with the applicant and his or her experience and one of the two writers also must have a venomous reptile permit.

McDaniel said Purdy has owned the cobra for about 1 1/2 years and also owns three exotic vipers and two venomous lizards. All of those creatures were accounted for and secure.

Purdy told officers that one of his large lizards had a larger-than-usual stomach and that he was going to take it to a veterinarian for an X-ray to see if it had ingested the snake.

Purdy later told a Star-Banner reporter that the veterinarian said that, so far, the tests on the lizard "were inconclusive."

A few minutes before midnight Monday, officers began going to the homes of nearby residents and telling them about the possibility that the snake may have escaped.

Hunter Reed, who lives nearby, said she was notified at 3 a.m. about the snake.

"I don't want to be the one to find the snake," she said.

She said she did not know her neighbor had snakes.

"And I didn't know you could have one of those for a pet," she added.

A man who also lives nearby said he also was notified at 3 a.m. He said he has two dogs — a Chihuahua and a long-haired "mutt" — and that he was worried about the dogs. He said he has searched his yard but did not find the cobra. He said he neighbor "always had weird animals" but he did not know about the snake.

Britney Simpson was out walking her husky in the neighborhood Tuesday around 10 a.m. When asked about the snake, she said she did not know anything about it. She said she has four children and then quickly started walking back home and said she would be taking "every precaution."

McDaniel said Tuesday afternoon that the interior of the home had been searched at least four or five times and they were fairly certain the cobra was not inside the snake room. He said the snake is cold-blooded and may not have gone far due to the cold weather.

McDaniel said that in addition to Purdy, the home is occupied by his wife and their teenage son.

Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.