The Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also recovered hundreds of dead cockroaches from the house in Douglas which were being bred on the property as feed.

CSPCA inspectors managed to recover 44 live non-venomous snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, a 20cm bird-eating spider, an exotic 10cm centipede and two parrots which were being kept in appalling conditions.

Arrangements have been made to rehome them in Fota Wildlife Park and Tayto Park.

The HSE is examining the property to establish if there was any risk to public health, and gardaí are conducting inquiries.

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The owner of the house, who was living there with his wife, one child, and his mother, was on holidays when the seizure took place.

However, he has returned, has agreed to surrender the creatures to the CSPCA, and is co-operating with the various agencies.

The 20cm bird-eating spider and a corn snake, handled by Peter Bracken, which were recovered at the house.

CSPCA manager, Vincent Cashman, said: “This was a terrible case of neglect. We were shocked by the sheer scale of this operation.”

The CSPCA moved in after receiving confidential information, and found 48 tubs or containers containing the remains of 56 dead animals.

EXCLUSIVE: #CSPCA has recovered over 50 dead & 50 live snakes, scorpions & tarantulas from a house in #Cork city pic.twitter.com/KT7gWrUaJn — Eoin English (@EoinBearla) April 22, 2015

In some cases, the remains were in such an advanced state of decomposition that inspectors couldn’t determine what type of creature it had been.

Some of the live animals, which shed skin as they grow, were in tubs alongside discarded skins, indicating that the containers hadn’t been cleaned for several months.

The animals may have been ordered online and delivered through the postal system.

While none of the animals was designated as endangered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Mr Cashman said the man should have sought help sooner when it became clear he could not cope.

“This kind of thing can’t be done on a whim. You need to do your research and if you’re going to keep exotic pets like this, you must do it responsibly,” Mr Cashman said.

“And if you’re struggling, call for help. There are agencies who can help.”

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